Come Home
by lovethatconsumesme
Summary: Damon comes home from the Navy SEALs a damaged man. Can Elena help him? AU/AH Delena
1. Chapter 1

I haven't been to Mystic Falls, Virginia since I left for college five years ago after my parents died in a car crash. I decided that being away and figuring out my life would be the best thing for me to move on. After getting my degree in nursing at University of Illinois-Chicago, I decided it was time to return to my hometown. Being away from my hometown helped me deal with the pain in the right way. It was time to come home. I missed my aunt and brother dearly.

After our parents sudden death, Jeremy went off the deep end. Only a sophomore in hight school at the time, he didn't deal well with them being gone. While I closed everyone off and tried my best to push everyone away, he resorted to smoking weed and heavy partying. My aunt and I tried our best to help him but in the end he rebelled even more. It was when he started failing classes and ditching school when my aunt had enough. In the middle of his junior year my aunt forced him into counseling. Within a year of therapy, Jeremy was able to think of our parents with happy memories instead of feeling instant pain from knowing they're gone. Jeremy ended up going to college and was currently enrolled at a local college twenty minutes away from Aunt Jenna's. However, during the summer he had an internship at a company doing business. I couldn't be more proud of him after all he's been through.

As for me, I've done pretty well for myself. My graduating GPA was a 4.0 and I was top in my class at UIC. College was the best thing that happened to me. I opened up and was a part of many organizations that helped out with local charities. I had many friends, even had two relationships. They didn't end up working out, but both were good learning experiences. As soon as graduation came I knew I wanted to be back in Virginia, so I applied for a nursing job at the Mystic Falls Hospital and luckily got a job. I requested to not start until June so that I had a month to move back and get comfortable in Mystic Falls once again.

After a long two day drive, I finally was in my hometown. I pulled into my old driveway and stared at my childhood home and I felt anxious. Jenna would be thrilled to see me, that much I knew. What else to expect, I had no idea. Did she forgive me for leaving? Did she have a boyfriend? Any surprises I wouldn't know about?

I hadn't talked much to anyone while I was at college. I wanted a new life, one without the painful reminders of my past. The only people I communicated with more than once a month were Jenna and Jeremy. As far as I knew, not much had changed since I left. Besides the remarkable turnaround Jeremy has made in the last couple of years.

I made my way to the front steps and rang the doorbell. Aunt Jenna opened the door almost immediately after, as if she was expecting me. Her already bright smile grew even more when she saw who the stranger was. "Elena! I've missed you so much! I'm so happy you're finally home!" She enveloped me in a huge hug and immediately my eyes filled with tears. I guess I missed home more than I originally thought. It felt so good to be in her motherly embrace.

"I've missed you too, Aunt Jenna. I'm so glad to be back," I answered.

"Jenna? Who is it?" A deep male voice asked from the background

"Oh, Elena, there is someone I like you to meet," Jenna said opening the door for me to come in. I was met with man who couldn't be much older than Jenna. He had sandy blonde hair that was met with dark brown eyes and a bit off stubble on his face. He wore a gray shirt with dark jeans. He looked extremely intimidating and was very muscular. He had tattoos all the way down both of his arms.

"This is Alaric, my boyfriend," Jenna finished.

Despite the dominating appearance he held, Alaric smiled warmly and shook my hand, "It's nice to meet you, Elena. Jenna talks about you a lot."

"It's nice to meet you too," I greeted. "How long have you two been dating?"

"Only for about three months, but have known each other for about a year. I waited to tell you after I knew you were coming back!" Jenna explained.

I was happy for her, she deserved someone in her life. People tended to forget that her life was turned upside down as well because she had to raise two teenagers by herself. Before my parents died, she had barely graduated college and was starting her own life. She dropped everything on the spot so she could raise me and my brother. She did a hell of a job, given the situation.

After they helped me move my stuff back in, we caught up on lots of things. I told them about my time in Chicago, both the good and bad parts. Funny moments, my good friends, ex-boyfriends, heartbreak and the tough schooling. Jenna already knew a lot but it was nice to talk face to face. She told me about how her and Alaric had met at a mutual friend's wedding and it was 'love at first sight'. I was extremely happy for her. He seemed like a good guy who really loved her. It was obvious that she cared about him by the way she stared at him.

Once I was settled in, I decided I should get in touch with my old friends Bonnie and Caroline. Both had been my best friends growing up and the guilt I felt from not speaking with them more often now overtook me. They had been great friends throughout the death of my parents, even when I didn't deserve it. I was cold and unrelatable and pushed them both away and then I abandoned them when I left for college. I promised we would stay in touch, but while they tried, I slipped away hoping to go unnoticed. I had hundreds of missed calls and unreturned texts between the two of them wondering how I was and why I wasn't responding.

Not wanting to call them, I sent a quick text out.

_Caroline and Bonnie. I hope these are still your numbers. It's Elena. If you guys don't hate me I would love to meet at the Grill sometime soon. Miss you both._

Caroline responded first, ten minutes later.

_Hey Elena! I would love to meet up! I'm free tonight if you wanna meet up. Lots to catch up on._

My phone vibrated again and I saw Bonnie's name pop up.

_Let's meet tonight if you can._

I smiled. At least they were talking to me. It could have been worse.

At six thirty, I nervously walked into the Grill to meet with my friends. The Grill hadn't changed one bit. It was still that comfortable hangout where it was busy enough to stay in business but quiet enough where you could have private conversations with people. Looking towards the back corner, I saw them at a table laughing and talking.

"Hi guys," I said as I approached the table.

Both of them stood up and I was met with only friendliness and "I miss you! I'm so happy you're here!" from both of them. I didn't deserve friends like these.

"How have you been?" Caroline asked as I sat down. She looked the same, only a few years older. Her blonde hair was in light curls and she wore a tad bit of mascara on with red lipstick. Always the fashion queen, she wore a light pink blouse with skinny jeans and some summer heels. She was beautiful, she always had been.

I smiled, "'Good. I've finally got my life figured out. Got a job nursing at the hospital here."

"That's awesome! Congratulations! I'm so happy you came back." Caroline exclaimed.

I blushed, "Thank you." I gulped, knowing I needed to apologize for the past few years. I needed to get it off my chest and they needed answers. I cleared my throat and said, "Guys I am so sorry for not keeping in touch these past few years. I have been an awful friend, I know. You guys are my best friends and I don't have any clue why I did what I did except that I was in too much pain and was selfish enough that I couldn't see past that. I am so sorry."

They both frowned and Bonnie responded first, "Elena, I was so mad and hurt when you wouldn't respond to any of my calls or anything. I wanted to hate you. But you're my best friend and I figured out that you needed your time and space. Now that you've got it, I'm glad you're back. We have a lot to catch up on."

"Yeah, Elena, we could never stay mad at you. No worries," Caroline adds.

I was so grateful for these two. They seriously were the best. Wanting to move onto hopefully lighter subjects, I asked, "So, any boys in your life?"

Bonnie immediately looked at Caroline who blushed and spilled, "Oh Elena, I've met the most wonderful guy ever! His name is Stefan. We met over summer two years ago and have been dating ever since. I can't wait for you to meet him, you'll love him!"

"Caroline, I'm so happy for you. You deserve a good guy. I can't wait to meet him, either," I told her.

"What about you Bonnie?"

She shrugged. "I've dated here and there, nothing serious though. I've been working on my psychology degree."

"How's that going?" I asked, I knew she always dreamt of becoming a psychologist.

"Really good, I'm in med school and I really like it," Bonnie says, and her smile told me she was happy with herself.

"That's awesome Bonnie, you'll be a great psychologist." I meant it. Ever since we were children Bonnie had this uncanny ability to help her friends and family in time of need. It was wonderful to have her around.

"I sure hope so. Anyway, Caroline has her own bakery a few blocks away. It's beautiful and always busy," Bonnie revealed.

"I'll have to see it soon! I bet it's just amazing! What's the name?" I asked. I couldn't be happier for my friends. Both seem to be successful and very happy.

"Sweet Retreat. I-" Her phone cut off whatever she was about to say. She looked at the caller and answered quickly, "Hi babe. What? Again? Stefan, he needs help. I don't know what to do anymore. Yeah, okay, I will. Love you too."

Caroline hung up and looked a lot less happy then she did before the call. "Guys I am so sorry to leave you this early, but Stefan's brother is drunk again and needs a ride home from the bar. But we need to hang out again soon!"

We both gave her hugs and watched as she quickly left the Grill. "Is Stefan's brother an alcoholic?" I asked, because the tone which Caroline said he was drunk again made it sound like it was often.

Bonnie nodded and frowned, "I've only met him a couple of times. He's gotten in a lot of bar fights in the past two months, that's all I know ."

I nodded and didn't push the subject further. She didn't seem like she knew much about the situation and it honestly wasn't our business. Bonnie and I reminisced on high school days for another hour before we went our own ways.

I laid in bed at home and felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I hadn't felt this peaceful in years. Everyone, including me, seemed to be happy. In a way I felt a little dread with the thought of happiness because last time I had felt like this, my parents had died. I just hoped this time was different, that something bad wouldn't happen as soon as my life was set straight.

The following night was Friday and Caroline invited me to go to the bar with her and Stefan. When I got into the Pub, it was pretty busy. There were basically two bars in Mystic Falls, The Grill and The Pub. The only difference was the latter only allowed people over 21 at night.

I walk in wearing tight, black skin tight pants with pink pumps and a loose blue top that showed a bit of cleavage. My hair was at its natural straight state and I had a little bit of makeup on. I heard my name being called and look to find Caroline standing next to a ridiculously good looking man. He had beautiful bronze hair with almond colored eyes. His muscular arms were visible through his shirt and I could tell he was nicely built. The looked like a couple sent from heaven.

He was wearing jeans and a striped button up shirt. I walked over and his face broke out into a friendly smile. "I'm Stefan, it's nice to meet you."

"You too, Caroline has said nice things," I replied, shaking his hand. His grip, as expected, was strong.

"Well, I certainly hope so," he teased and smiled at Caroline. Even though I just met him, I could tell the two were very much in love.

Stefan led us to table by the bar and looked at his watch with a frown. "Damon should be here by now," he announced.

I looked around, confused. "Who is Damon?" I asked.

Caroline glanced around the Pub while she responded, "Stefan's brother." I nodded, I was nervous to meet this Damon Salvatore, from the little I knew about him it seemed as if he was trouble. Neither Caroline or Bonnie seemed to fond of him.

"Give him time," she said, rubbing her boyfriend's back.

"No need to worry, Barbie, I'm right here," a velvet voice said from behind me. I turned to find the most beautiful man I'd ever seen. Damon Salvatore blew Stefan out of the water, and I thought Stefan was good looking. His raven hair looked messy and he had a bit of scruff on his face, as if he hadn't shaved in a couple of days. He, not unlike Stefan, was built as well. His biceps were protruding from the all black shirt he was wearing. His outfit was entirely black. His jeans were black and he wore black shoes to go with it.

While his face was beautiful, his eyes were a world of their own. My breath hitched as soon as my brown eyes met his. The icy blue orbs were intimidating yet strikingly beautiful. Beneath his wonderful eyes were dark circles and his eyes were dark, as if holding secrets.

"Who is this?" he asked rudely.

I smiled despite his shortness and replied, "I'm Elena Gilbert, Caroline's life long friend."

I stuck out my hand for him to shake it. He took it and smirked. "Damon Salvatore."

His gaze finally left mine and looked around the crowded bar, almost as if he was nervous about something. "Why are we sitting in the middle of the Pub?" He abruptly asked.

"We can somewhere else, if it bothers you that much," Caroline offered.

He tensed and turned toward her with a glare. "Well, it does bother me, Barbie. So we're moving," he bit.

I stood watching the altercation between the two. It seemed as if he didn't like Caroline much. I could't imagine why, she was the sweetest person on earth. She had never given anyone any reason to hate her in the time I've known her. Caroline was a person who was always smiling and bubbly, even when things were rough. I had to give her credit for that because she hasn't had the easiest life either. Her dad divorced her mom when she was 10 and ran off with another man. He never was in her life and her mother was a policewoman and always working. I knew how much it affected Caroline, even if she didn't ever admit it. Sometimes I swore Mystic Falls attracted tragedy and pain.

Caroline seemed unfazed. "Okay, you pick then. If it's that important."

Stefan stepped in before Damon could say something else, "How about the corner back there? Against the wall?"

Damon nodded and led us four toward the designated table. He sat with his back towards the wall, facing everyone else. I noticed that he seemed to relax immediately. I took the seat next to him in the booth so that Stefan and Caroline sat next to each other.

After we ordered drinks, Stefan asked Damon, "You're going to dad's fundraiser next weekend, right?"

"Why the fuck would I do that?" Damon snapped.

"Damon, he wants you there. He said he's talked to you about it," Stefan cautiously explained.

Damon's jaw clenched and unclenched before he spoke. "We did. I told him no. Dressing up and putting on a fake smile with fake people doesn't interest me."

"It would mean a lot to him if you went. I think you're not going because you're afraid people are going to ask you about what happened when you were dep-"

Damon immediately cut him off with a hard glare. His tone was ice cold when he warned,"You have no idea what you're saying. _Father_ doesn't need his screwed up son to show up, believe me."

My eyes were glued to the table. I had no idea what they were talking about, but I could tell it was off limits for Damon. Obviously, his relationship with his father wasn't the best. Damon didn't seem like the type of person I would want to get into an argument with.

Stefan dropped the subject and luckily the waitress came to take our orders. Damon went first, "Cheeseburger. Also, another glass of bourbon."

The waitress was either struck by his beauty (which wouldn't surprise me) or the harsh way in which he ordered. She stared at him and Damon snapped, "Do I have to repeat myself?"

She recovered and wrote down his order, along with the rest of ours. As soon as she left Stefan said one last thing about their father's fundraiser, "Just think about it. That's all I ask."

Damon nodded but gave no verbal answer. Instead, he took a few large gulps from his glass of bourbon. I stared in awe, he drank it like it was water.

The rest of dinner went a lot smoother with lighter conversations. I told Stefan about growing up in Mystic Falls and how it would always be my home no matter what happend. I asked him about where he grew up, because Mystic Falls was a small town and Salvatore wasn't a name I had heard before.

"Damon and I grew up in New York and moved here when I was fourteen and he was sixteen," Stefan explained, "I love it here. People are very friendly. What made you leave?"

I didn't want to bring the awkwardness that followed after I told people my parents were dead, so I told a little white lie, "College. I went to school for nursing. I start working at the local hospital in June."

"'That's great! Well I know Caroline is happy you're back in town," Stefan said while he wrapped an arm around her.

"I love Bonnie, but you know how she can get. Plus, it's always nice having more than one girl friend in town," Caroline added. I laughed because I knew what she meant with how Bonnie could get. Bonnie could be very sweet and caring, but she could also be judgmental and pessimistic at times. There were a few occasions when I went a long time without talking to Bonnie because of fights we got in. It all seemed stupid now, but at the time I swore to my family that we were 'never going to talk again. I hate her'.

"I'm glad I came home, it's been a long time since I've been back," I admitted. "So what do you do Stefan?" I asked in order to direct the conversation to someone else.

"He's in law school," Caroline announced proudly.

"Wow. Good for you, I could never go through that much school." I loved learning, but law school would be too much.

"My father was in law so it was only natural for me," Stefan said proudly. I didn't miss the grunt from the man beside me.

"What about you Damon?" I asked, turning to him.

He reached for his glass and I saw a tattoo on the inside of his right bicep. In bold cursive writing was:

_Never forget_

_1.04.12_

_C.W. A.S. R.B. I.N._

Damon must have seen me staring at it because he quickly put his arm back to his side, where the tattoo was against the side of his torso and no one could see it.

"I didn't go to college," he replied curtly and I caught on that he didn't want to talk about himself. I inwardly sighed. I wanted to know more about this gorgeous man. Major problem was he didn't seem to want to share. I'd met people who put up walls before. Hell, I did it for years, but he wouldn't share one thing.

Caroline didn't seem to catch Damon's don't-talk-about-me tone because she said what he didn't, "Damon went into the military. He's a Navy Seal."

My eyes widened in shock. I wasn't stupid, I knew what an honor it was to be a Navy Seal. It was one of the hardest branches of the military, if not the hardest. They did the dirty stuff, the hard stuff. "That is quite an honor," I expressed.

Damon didn't respond. His cheeks turned red, and I could only guess it was from anger towards Caroline because she spilled the beans. "I think I've had enough of this, I'll be at the bar." Damon stood quickly and walked away. I noticed he had a slight limp, he clearly favored his left leg.

Caroline frowned and apologized to Stefan, "I'm sorry, I didn't think he'd get so upset."

Stefan rubbed her back and comforted her, "I know. You didn't do anything wrong. I'll be by the bar. I'm gonna see what his deal is."

As soon as he left, Caroline slumped against the chair. "That's Damon Salvatore for you."

I chuckled. He definitely was a piece of work. "Was he deployed?"

"Yeah, spent a tour in Afghanistan and and three in Iraq. Apparently, he went through a lot. I don't know the whole story, only Stefan does. Which is why he's so patient with Damon's moods." Her eyes followed to where Stefan was now talking with Damon.

"Moods?" I inquired.

Caroline let out a sarcastic laugh. "What you saw right there was nothing. Being around Damon can be exhausting. He likes to piss people off."

"So you think highly of him," I sarcastically added with a smile.

"I don't really know him that well either. Only what Stefan tells me. When I met Stefan, Damon was already a Seal. He was constantly training and being deployed. I've only spent time with him in between his tours and since he got back."

"When was that?"

"March."

It was May 7. Damon literally had just gotten home two months ago. "I'm sure the transition has been hard for him," I stated. I'd heard coming back from war and readjusting to the 'civilian' life was hard for a lot of soldiers.

"Tell me about it, he can't even drive a car without freaking out," Caroline revealed.

I frowned. I felt bad for the guy. My gaze found him at the bar with another glass of bourbon in his hand. His head was down, but I could see his eyes watching his surroundings. Stefan stood behind him, talking to a friend.

"Does he live by himself?" I asked, not being able to stop the questions. I was a curious person.

"He has his own apartment and has a yellow lab. More often than not they stay with me and Stefan at their childhood home," she explained. I can hear a tinge of annoyance in her voice.

When she sees me raise my eyebrows she continued, "I care about Stefan, therefore I care about Damon because I know that his well being is extremely important to Stefan. They are very close, despite the banter. Because of that Stefan is bending over backwards to help Damon all while finishing school. And I can't help with Damon because he doesn't trust me and quite frankly I don't think he likes me very much."

"What about therapy?" I suggested.

"Stefan brought it up once and Damon almost punched him in the face. He yelled and screamed at Stefan for ten minutes. I kid you not. It was scary," Caroline revealed. The thoughtful look on her face tells me she was remembering the moment in her head. "However, Stefan kept at it and he started therapy two weeks ago."

"Matt went into the military didn't he? Maybe he could try to talk to Damon?" I don't know why this was so important for me, to have Damon get help, but it was. Caroline once told me it was because I had a big heart. Maybe that's why I'm in nursing too, I liked to help people who are in need. It was usually just never from themselves.

"Matt didn't even deploy. He is stationed in Hawaii right now. I don't think he would quite understand anything. What's it to you anyway? Do you have a crush on Damon? Don't because all he does is sleep around and drink and-"

"No! I just met him! I'm just...I don't know..." I really had no explanation for why I asked so many questions about the older Salvatore brother.

"My advice would be to stay away, Elena. Damon will only drag you down with him."

* * *

Caroline invited me for dinner Sunday night. Apparently, the Salvatore's father would be there and Caroline didn't want to be left alone with them. "I promise it's not intruding. Bring Jenna and Alaric too," she begged.

I sighed, "Fine. But I still feel like it's supposed to be a family dinner."

"Elena, if it was supposed to be a family dinner then I wouldn't be there," she reminded me.

She was able to convince me to go so here I was driving over with Jenna and Alaric. Jenna warned me, "Guiseppe Salvatore is not the friendliest man alive. He's not warm and welcoming so don't feel like he only doesn't like you. He doesn't like anyone."

Alaric snorted, "He doesn't even like his own son."

"How do you know who he is?" I asked, confused. They seemed to know him pretty well. Obviously, Jenna knew Caroline but I doubted she knew Stefan or Damon. Also, I don't think Jenna spent time with Caroline while I was gone.

"Alaric was in the SEALs with Damon; they're very good friends," Jenna explained.

My mouth hung open in shock. I had no idea Alaric was in the military, or even knew Damon. It made sense though, Alaric and Jenna were only 30 and Damon was 26. "I didn't know that. Did you serve together?"

"We met after training and ended up serving in Ramadi, which is in Iraq, at the same time. It was my fourth tour and after I ended my career. Damon continued to go on a another tour in Afghanistan. After we came home from Iraq, we got an apartment together, which he still lives in. I met Jenna and the rest you know. But yes, I've known Damon a long time and I know his family well," Alaric told me.

I wanted to ask more about his tour in Iraq, what it was like and more about Damon, but we had arrived at the Salvatore mansion. Instead of knocking, Alaric walked in the house and we were met by a beautiful yellow lab who I assumed was Damon's from what Caroline told me. I reached down to pet the canine, but she ran out of site. I noticed she came back with Damon at her side, as if she went to fetch him.

Once Damon saw Alaric, he smiled and greeted us, "Alaric! Nice to see you, man."

Alaric gave him a slap on the shoulder and replied, "You too, bud. Glad we could come. Haven't seen you in a while."

Damon led us into the kitchen, his dog trailing slightly behind him. Their house was seriously gorgeous, inside and out. The interior design had a antique feel as if it had been designed in the 1800s. The kitchen felt like the size of half of my first floor. Their boarding house was definitely the biggest house in the area. It was no wonder no one had heard us walk in.

Caroline was cooking while Stefan spoke with an older looking man I assumed was Guiseppe. He had thick gray hair with a clean shaven face. His eyes were blue and held the same iciness that his Damon's held. He had a tight smile and held perfect posture which was naturally intimidating. I could tell that his presence demanded respect and he was a very dominant personality by just looking at him.

Stefan introduced me first, "Father, you've met Jenna and Alaric before. This is Jenna's niece, Elena. Elena, this is my father Guiseppe."

The gray haired man stuck a hand out and shook my hand firmly. "It's nice to meet you," I tried to say confidently even though the man made me feel like I was two feet tall. I shrank as his eyes looked over me, clearly judging me.

As we sat at the kitchen table, I could see that the eldest Salvatore thought very highly of Stefan, all while he practically ignored Damon. Stefan and Guiseppe talked about being lawyers and schooling. Damon, instead of listening to his family members, engaged in conversation with Alaric. He seemed like a totally different person around Alaric. Instead of being cold and closed off, he seemed friendly and warm. Someone who was easy to talk to and relate with. It was a huge change from the Damon I had drinks with just two nights ago.

"So is Cari done with her training?" Alaric asked.

"Yeah, we just went for her last session yesterday. I can now bring her in public places and restaurants because she's certified. Took a long time, but finally it's over," Damon explained. I realized Cari must be Damon's service dog. That's the only thing I could think of because he clearly wasn't blind or physically disabled. She must help him with psychological problems, I had read that it was becoming a very popular thing for veterans to have dogs to help them.

While Alaric and Damon caught up, I chatted with Caroline and Jenna more until the topic of Guiseppe Salvatore's charity event came up. I heard him ask Damon if he was going. It was more of a demand. "I expect you to be there son, and behave like a man."

Damon rolled his eyes and said, "What makes you think I won't?"

"I don't want any of your episodes or anything. Behave like an adult that you are, not a child," Guiseppe scolded.

The table went quite and I could cut the tension between father and son with knife. "Well, _father,_ I don't plan on being there so you can quit worrying about me making a scene with my dramatics," Damon sarcastically told him.

"Get a goddam date and go to the ball! Represent your family," Guiseppe bursted out with anger.

Caroline, god bless her heart, interrupted the quickly growing argument by suggesting, "Elena, you could go as Damon's date. It'll be fun."

I almost died of a stroke. I couldn't believe she just offered me to go with Damon. Hell, I hardly knew him! What was she thinking? By the look on her face after she said that, I could tell she surprised herself too.

I blushed crimson and forced myself to look at Damon. He gritted his teeth, but actually looked like he was contemplating it. A few moments of silence passed and Caroline felt like it was her duty to apologize, "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me, you-"

"Fine. I'll go to the ball with Elena. As long is it's okay with you?" He asked, looking at me. Numbly, without realizing what I was agreeing to, I nodded. "Does that make you happy, _father_?"

Guiseppe eyed the two of us, who sat diagonal from one another and nodded, "As long as you're there."

I slouched in my seat. What did I just agree to?


	2. Chapter 2

The week leading up to the ball Caroline and I shopped for dresses all day, _every _day. It got to a point where I didn't think we would find anything. We had to drive to a nice mall an hour away from Mystic Falls to find the right one. It was royal blue and fell to my feet. With a v neck and open back, the dress was sexy yet not too revealing. It was loose below the v neck. As soon as I tried it on, I knew it was the right one. Caroline gasped, "That is it Elena! That's the one. You look beautiful."

I smiled and thanked her. "Do you think Damon will like it?" I asked nervously. This night was to impress Damon, and more importantly his father. I wanted to make sure everything was perfect because if I messed something up I would feel terrible.

"I'm sure he'll think you look gorgeous. Let's find you some shoes and jewelry," Caroline said excitedly. She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the shoe section of Nordstrom. It was a girl's dream. I could have bought everything in the store. Shopping anywhere with Caroline was difficult because she _made_ you want to buy everything you saw.

We found a pair of silver heels and long silver earrings to go with the dress and found a tie for Damon that matched. As we walked out of the store I asked about why she had offered me to go with Damon, as she was the one who advised me to stay away. "I just don't get it," I added.

"Something came over me," Caroline explained with a short laugh, "I've been seeing a lot more of him and been getting to know him a little better and I just feel bad for him. And as good looking as he is-"

"Caroline!" I exclaimed. I couldn't believe she was saying that about her boyfriend's brother.

"What? He is. Any one who looks at him knows that. But as I was saying, girls think he's some messed up freak. Some of the looks they give him are so rude and they make it so obvious it pisses me off," she elaborated.

"Why do they think that? Besides the fact he can be an ass, he acts pretty normal." I thought back to the one and only time I saw him in public, the time we met at the bar. To the public eye, one couldn't tell that he had problems.

"He's has his moments, believe me. He's been in more than one bar fight and one time a girl approached him from behind and startled him, he had a panic attack in the middle of the Grill. Luckily, Alaric was there and got him to the bathroom to calm him down. Plus, he's in the news. He is in the works with writing a book about what happened in Afghanistan. Apparently, the mission he was on that failed was a big deal and people want the true story so he is working with a writer for the book," Caroline told me.

"Damon's pretty closed off though from what I can tell. I'm surprised he would want the public eye knowing about what happened," I observed. Caroline didn't even know what happened to him. It seemed as if Alaric and Stefan were the only two people he told.

"From what Stefan has told me, the Navy strongly advised him to after horrible rumors started spreading about it. Damon gets calls from random people, I don't know how they get his number, asking about the mission. Absurd things, people come up with. I just can't wait until it's released. Stefan thinks some of the weight on Damon's shoulders will be lifted."

"Hopefully," I said as we pulled into the Salvatore's driveway. I was still in awe at how beautiful the place was. It looked like a house- or castle- out of a fairytale. Stefan was in the kitchen making dinner when we arrived.

"I thought I'd never see you again," he joked as he gave Caroline a welcoming kiss.

"You know how us girls get at the mall," Caroline replied, setting her bags on the counter.

"Did you get everything for Saturday?" Stefan asked me.

"Yeah, we finally found a dress and got shoes and jewelry. I have Damon's tie for him," I said.

"He's in his room if you want to give it to him. It's upstairs, the third door on the right," he directed.

I nodded in thanks and quietly headed towards Damon's room. Despite being his date for Saturday, we hardly spent alone time with each other. I was afraid of the awkwardness and how short Damon could be. I knocked on the door lightly and heard Cari's bark. I waited a few moments before the door opened and I was met with Damon's groggy face. I'd obviously just woken him up. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. I just-uhm- have your tie," I stuttered while I handed him the bag.

"Oh. Thank you. Come in," Damon opened the door wider. His room was spotless and beautiful. There was a bookshelf in one of the corners, along with a walk in closet and bathroom. Beside his king size bed was a nightstand that had two pill bottles and some picture frames on it.

"You can sit if you want," he offered while he sat near the headboard of his bed. I slowly took a seat at the bottom, Cari jumped up and rested at Damon's legs. I looked back at the pictures. One was of a beautiful middle aged woman, one whom looked a lot like Damon. I figured it was his mother. Another was of him, Stefan, and Alaric. The last one was of him and four other guys in combat gear in Afghanistan or Iraq. I couldn't tell.

I turned my attention to him when he spoke softly, "I wanted to thank you for going to the ball with me on Saturday. You still don't have to if you don't want to."

I smiled and shook my head, "It's no big deal. I would still like to go."

"I realize I have not been very friendly to you. I don't mean to be rude."

I accepted his half-apology with a shrug. "I understand."

I met his eyes and he seemed to be struggling to say something. He fidgeted with his hands and Cari started licking them. Damon smiled and pet her head softly. The silence started to become awkward so I stated, "You're dog is adorable."

He chuckled, "She is isn't she? She's like a best friend. Do you have any pets?"

I was glad he was making conversation. I didn't want to go to this charity ball and have it be awkward because we didn't know each other well at all.

"No. I did when I was younger but he died and we never got to having a new one," I explained. Jerry was a great dog and when he died of old age when I was 13, I was devastated and demanded we wouldn't get a new one because no dog would ever compare to him. Looking back, a new dog would have been great, but the past is the past.

"Cari's the first dog I've ever had. My dad hates dogs," Damon explained. "He hates a lot of things, actually," he added quietly.

"How can you hate her? She's too innocent!" I said playfully to lighten the mood.

A loud knock on the door interrupted our small talk. Damon jumped back and seemed to be frightened. Cari nudged his face with her nose lovingly. Stefan walked in and as soon as he saw Damon he apologized, "Sorry. I didn't mean to, I know you hate it. Just wanted to let you know dinner is ready."

Damon recovered and nodded. "Thanks, I'll be down in a minute."

Once the younger sibling exited the room, Damon turned to me. "Uhm, thank you for getting the tie. I'm glad we could talk a little before the charity. I think we'll leave from here. I don't know if you're gonna get ready with Caroline or at your house so-"

"Caroline and I are getting ready here so you don't have to worry about that," I interrupted as we walked out together.

"Perfect. I'll see you in two days then," he said.

"Sounds good. Have a good night," I replied as I walked towards the front door.

Damon nodded, "You too, Elena."

* * *

Alaric and Jenna had a nice steak dinner with mashed potatoes ready for me when I got home. "Oh smells yummy," I said as I walked in.

"We figured we would have something besides takeout for a change," Jenna remarked while she put down utensils on the kitchen table.

I chuckled and joked, "I didn't even know you could cook. The best meal we had was Mac'n'Cheese a few years a go."

"Give me some credit, I did more than that!" Jenna half heartedly argued as we sat down.

I gave her a pointed look. "Okay, maybe we had spaghetti once a year."

She jokingly glared at me as we dug in the food. I took the time with Alaric to ask more about being in the military. Partly because of my interest in his experiences and partly because of Damon, I couldn't help myself. Lately, the blue eyed Salvatore was on my mind frequently. "So Alaric, what made you quit the SEALs? You seem like you're still young enough," I said.

He chuckled before he explained, "Well I'll take that as a compliment. But it wasn't really a choice. I got shot twice in Iraq in the back and I wasn't strong enough to do my part anymore so I was pretty much told I had to quit."

I didn't hear any remorse about it in his voice, just acceptance. "Oh I had no idea. Well you seem better now," I mentioned.

"Yeah, well rehab was rough but having Damon here helped because he understood and was there. Then I met your Aunt and everything was uphill from there," Alaric smiled at Jenna, who blushed at the compliment.

"So you lived here before you went to war?" I asked because I was unsure of how no one had ever heard of his name before. Mystic Falls was such a small town and it was very uncommon to not know someone through the grapevine.

But he shook his head, "No I grew up Kentucky. But I met Damon and a lot of stuff was going on at home. My wife divorced me and I didn't have a place to stay so I roomed with Damon until he went back to war and I met your Aunt and moved here."

"Why didn't Sefan ever join the SEALs? Why only Damon?" I asked even though he probably didn't know. I was curious because a lot of people who joined the army had military parents and all the children joined.

"That is a long complicated story which I can't even begin. You'll have to ask Damon or Stefan that. The only thing I'll say is that the SEALs isn't something Stefan would be able to do. I don't mean that in a bad way, it's just not fit for everyone."

I nodded and we sat in silence before I asked another question, "Are you guys going to the charity ball Saturday?"

Jenna grunted, "Yeah, unfortunately."

At my questioning look, she further explained, "The whole point of the ball is so that Giuseppe Salvatore can get more business. It has nothing to do with charity. He struts around the whole night bragging about business and his and Stefan's success. It makes me sick to watch."

"Stefan doesn't seem to be like his father though," I thought aloud. I never got the impression that Stefan was the type of person to brag. From what I had seen he was someone who loved his brother and girlfriend very much. He seemed to have a big heart and was always friendly.

"He's not. It's his father. But Stefan wants to impress him so sometimes he'll follow him around. But he knows where to draw a line. Stefan's a good man," Alaric defended his friend.

"'I'm nervous to go. I don't think Mr. Salvatore liked me much and I'm going with his son," I admitted. As much as the eldest Salvatore sounded like an ass, I still didn't want him to find a reason to not like me. Plus, I didn't want to ruin the night for Damon.

"Don't worry, he doesn't like me either," Alaric reassured me. I could tell it didn't bother him one bit. I wished I could say the same. It bothered me too much when people didn't like me. Call me a people pleaser as you wish, but it irked me when there were bad feelings directed towards me. I slouched in my seat and frowned. The whole thing was beginning to stress me out. I just hoped it would go well.

* * *

Saturday came quickly and soon enough I was with Caroline getting ready for the event. I slipped into my blue dress and curled my hair before putting in a loose up-do that I hope would hold all night. I put more than my usual amount of makeup on and some light pink lipstick. I looked at my appearance in the mirror, actually satisfied with what reflected back at me. Caroline stood behind me, frantically trying to finish her makeup before we were late. She wore a red strapless dress that, not unlike mine, fell loose at the waist. She looked like a model. "You look great, Caroline. Don't worry," I told her. I knew she was stressed. She actually had to make a good impression at this event. With things becoming serious with Stefan, I think a wedding was on more than one person's mind and she wanted his family and friends to approve.

"Thank you, so do you 'Lena. Damon is going to fall over," she gushed as she grabbed her gold hand purse. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," I replied. We walked downstairs to find Damon and Stefan talking amongst themselves. At the sound of our heels, both of their heads turned and for a moment I felt like I was a princess. As Damon saw me, his mouth fell slightly open as his eyes looked over me with surprise. After a moment, he collected himself and cleared his throat. He held out a hand for me and said, "You look beautiful, Elena."

I swore my cheeks were as red as a tomato, "Thank you. You don't look too shabby yourself." It was no lie. In a black tux with the blue tie that matched my dress, he looked amazing. The blue in the tux brought out the intensity of his eyes even more.

Damon grabbed Cari and attached her to a harness and handle, and I noticed his limp was more profound today. No one said anything about the dog coming with as the four of us made our way to the limo that awaited us outside. I felt like a celebrity, or at least like I belonged on Gossip Girl with Blair and Serena.

"The drive is about an hour, would you like a glass of champagne?" Damon asked politely.

We all agreed, and Damon poured each of us a glass. I sat next to Damon who had one arm casually resting on the seat behind me. He seemed so confident with women, which was extremely sexy. It's not sexy when a guy awkwardly puts his arm around you or doesn't know how to flirt with a girl. At least for me, that's a turnoff.

The ride there was surprisingly easy going and fun. We all talked about different things, Caroline told funny stories about people that came through the bakery and the customers she dealt with. "Seriously, some of them come in and order five cupcakes for themselves! It's ridiculous! No wonder why America is so fat!"

I almost spilled my drink from laughing so hard. Sometimes I wondered how Caroline didn't go nuts with customers. She wasn't the most patient person and when people got on her nerves and could be pretty judgemental. It was pretty obvious. However, she was usually friendly unless someone gave her a reason not to be.

We arrived at the Hilton Head hotel in what felt like ten minutes because of the fun ride. Stefan and Caroline walked out first, holding hands and smiling. There were actually people with cameras. I felt like we were on the red carpet. Damon and Cari got out first and Damon politely held out a hand for me. As soon as I stepped out questions came toward us like rapid fire.

"Damon, who's the lucky lady?" "How long have you been back from Afghanistan?" "What's your name, dear?" "Damon, is it true you and your father got in a fist fight?"

The questions were never ending and I wasn't the only one who was uncomfortable. I felt Damon's hand tighten around my waist as we walked in. "Just smile and keep walking. Ignore them," he whispered in my ear. From his voice, I wondered if he was telling himself that more than me.

My legs were a bit shaky from the bombardment of people, but as soon as we got to the doors, the craziness was left outside. We walked to the left and down a long hallway until we finally were at the last door on the right. Suddenly, I began panicking. If Damon left me I was all alone with a bunch of snobby strangers. I hoped that either we found Jenna and Alaric because I knew Stefan and Caroline would be mingling all night. Damon seemed to sense my nerves because as we walked in he said, "Just stay by my side and you'll be fine. I'll try not to mingle too much."

I nodded as I took in the ballroom. It was a huge dance floor that was full with tables for dinner that would be served later. The older men and women all looked the same to me. They clearly were very wealthy people who chatted in small groups while they sipped champagne and laughed. The whole Gossip Girl feeling was becoming reality. These people were all a bunch of Bart Bass's and Eleanor Waldorf's.

In the front near the stage, I saw Caroline and Stefan speaking with Giuseppe. Damon must have seen them too, because he sighed, "I guess we should get this over with."

"Well, look who actually showed up," Giuseppe coldly greeted his eldest son. When he spotted Cari trailing behind Damon his eyes narrowed. "What is that mutt doing here? Get it out!" He demanded in a harsh whisper.

I flinched at his tone. What the hell was his deal? "The dog stays," Damon replied just as emotionless as his father greeted him. Cari, as if she knew she was being talked about, laid down behind her owner with her head down. I had the urge to kneel down and comfort her.

"I will not have the thing disrupt my evening. Tie it up outside or have it taken home," Giuseppe was not budging with this.

Damon wouldn't back down and argued, "Either the dog goes and _I _end up disrupting your night with one of my 'episodes' or the dog stays and we all can have peace. Your choice."

The older Salvatore's jaw clenched and gave Damon a glare. "Fine. But one noise and you're both out. Now, Elena, I'm surprised you're here. You're not exactly Damon's..._type,_" Giuseppe huffed.

Stefan stepped up at this point and suggested, "Dad, don't go there. Elena is not Katherine, and she shouldn't be. Let's go find Mr. Shackman."

Giuseppe gave Damon a look of disgust and said, "At least one of my sons isn't a complete disappointment."

I watched as Damon tried to mask the anger and hurt from his face, but he failed and for a moment I thought he might start a scene. Instead he shook his head and headed to the bar to get another glass of champagne. We stood in silence as I watched him gulp down two glasses. I heard soft music start to play and Damon muttered, "Shit. We have to dance. It's the 'opening dance' and we have to be in it."

He stood up and made his way towards the front. Alaric and Jenna were talking to another younger couple and Damon quickly asked Alaric, "Can you watch Cari for this song? I have to fucking dance."

The other people seemed shocked that Damon would use such vulgar language. I had to stifle a smile because quite honestly this whole event was pretentious and too proper and I loved Damon's I-don't-give-a-fuck attitude. Alaric nodded and happily took the yellow lab. Damon then took my hand in a strong hold and we made our way to the line and stood behind Stefan and Caroline. Caroline turned around to me and winked, I gave her a little wave back. When we got to the dance floor, a circle had gathered around the couples dancing. There were probably ten couples. Damon turned to me and wrapped his arm around my waist, the other held my right hand. My left hand rested on his shoulder. I looked at him apprehensively, "I'm an awful dancer."

He smirked, "I got this. Just follow my lead."

Damon led us beautifully. He was not as graceful as I guessed he once was because of his leg. But he still knew what he was doing and I was able to get by without accidentally stepping on his toes. "I'm really glad you came with me Elena," he said.

"I'm glad I could keep you company," I replied. Not that I didn't mind spending time with Damon, I didn't, but everything else about this event sucked. The people were not friendly and seemed to look down upon Damon and his 'guest'. I have a name, people.

"I'm sorry about my dad if he offended you or anything," he apologized.

I shook my head, "That's not something you should be apologizing for. You aren't accountable for what he says and does. And honestly, he was ruder to you than me."

"I'm also his son, I'm used to it," he countered.

"I don't get why you should be. He isn't rude to Stefan," I said, testing to see how he reacted. I knew I was treading dangerous waters with that topic.

"Well Stefan is perfect, why should he be?" Damon replied. Anyone could have sensed the sarcasm laced within it it.

"I think you're dad should be very proud of you. Sure, Stefan is following in his footsteps, but joining the military is extremely respectable let alone being a SEAL. That's the highest honor. I think it's ridiculous that he doesn't think anything of it," I said.

"There isn't much to be proud of in my military career," he muttered and I had a feeling that what he just said had to do with the failed mission Caroline told me about.

I chose wisely not to say anything about it. I didn't know him well enough and didn't want to offend him by saying anything bad. Luckily, the music ended and Giuseppe's voice loomed over the microphone. "Hello everyone. I'm glad you could make it. Please take a seat while I introduce you to Mrs. Nancy Shackman, the founder."

Light applause filled the room as I took a seat next to Stefan at the table. Damon went to find Cari. Next to Stefan was Caroline, then two couples I didn't know, Giuseppe and a women who looked to be in her thirties. Damon arrived and took his seat between me and the woman. Cari sat behind Damon's chair, watching the crowd with interest. As soon as Damon settled, Giuseppe introduced me to the stranger. "Elena, this is Claire. Claire, this is Damon's date, Elena Gilbert."

"Gilbert? I don't know that name," she said rudely.

I rolled my eyes. Probably not, bitch, because my parents are dead. I refrained from saying that to avoid the extreme awkwardness that would follow. "Please, the only reason people know you is because you're here with my father," Damon replied for me.

Although I appreciated the thought, I knew what he just said would cause even more problems between father and son and I didn't want that. However, Claire clearly had no idea what to say and Giuseppe was held speechless.

Dinner felt like four hours. The talk was forced and about stupid topics such as Giuseppe's business and a lot about the promising future the Stefan would be in charge of. I couldn't have been happier after desert was eaten and we were allowed to leave. Damon had the same train of thought because as soon as we said our goodbye's we were heading outside. "The limo isn't going to be here for another ten minutes, but I figured you don't want to be in there as much as I don't," Damon said.

I laughed, "You got that right." I saw a bench and we both sat on it together, Cari at Damon's feet.

"Does Cari ever misbehave? She seems like the perfect dog," I wondered. She never did anything wrong as far as I saw. Never barked or jumped on people or peed inside. I needed a dog like her.

"She pretty much has to be. We went through many hours of training to get her this way. She helps me with a lot more things than people know, that's why I have to have her with me, especially in public places."

"What does she help with?" I asked before I quickly apologized, "Wow. I'm sorry. That is none of my business. Forget I even asked."

"It's fine, Elena. Mainly she helps with readjusting to life here. But I'm sure you've noticed I have a bad limp and have balance issues, hence why I have the handle. She does a lot for just being a dog," he explained while he kept his gaze on Cari. "Enough about me. What about you? I feel like I don't know anything about you, besides you're a nurse.

"What do you wanna know?" I asked back. I knew that was just being difficult but what do you start with?

"I don't know. Do you have any siblings? What are your parents like?"

"Well, I have a brother Jeremy. He's in college and this summer he's doing an internship. I have yet to see him. And my parents died in a car crash when I was a senior," I explained and waited for the dreaded look of pity came.

Except it didn't. Sure, I could see sadness. But it was more like he understood, not pity. "Oh. I had no idea. That's awful."

I stared at him in shock and he must have thought he said something wrong, "What?" he asked.

I recovered immediately, "Nothing! Sorry. You're just the first person who doesn't pity me or go on about how sorry they are and it's just a relief."

He smiled sadly, "I lost my mom when I was in high school as well, so I know what it's like to lose a parent."

"I'm sorry. Do you mind me asking what happened?"

"She died on 9/11. She worked in the North tower as a receptionist. My father hated that she worked, but she didn't want to sit around and do nothing when Stefan and I were at school so she got a job," Damon said with a reflective look.

I knew that must have had a huge impact on Damon's life, and a large reason to why he joined the military. That day was so tragic for all of America. I remember both of my parents crying that morning as they watched the news. Our family had no connections with anyone who died and we felt the pain. I couldn't imagine knowing someone who died because of the attacks. Hearing about it constantly probably didn't help. I couldn't imagine if the cause of my parents death was on national television for months straight. Even more than ten years later it's still talked about quite a bit, especially on the anniversary. I voiced my thoughts, "That must have been part of the reason you wanted to be in the military."

"Yeah, it was a big part. I can't even begin to explain how angry I was, especially right after, because of that," he admitted. I heard the bitterness in his voice already. Just as I was about to respond, the limo pulled up and we climbed in.

"We're not waiting for Stefan and Caroline?" I asked as we pulled away.

"My father will be talking with and about Stefan for the rest of the night. Until they are the last ones there," he replied with a shake of his head. "I'm sure you don't want to wait around for that."

"No," I lamely replied. I was glad we were out of there. One more rude comment from that man's mouth and I would have lost it. I didn't understand how he was so well respected when he was a complete ass.

"Did you have a good time?" Damon asked me, his eyes catching mine.

"I did. In all honesty, I had fun with you tonight. I'm glad I came," I told him honestly.

''I'm glad you came, you were more than good company," Damon said. I blushed profusely and averted my eyes. My attention was caught when he asked me, "Would you like to go out another time? The two of us?"

I didn't even have to think about my answer. "Yes, I'd like that," I responded with large grin.


	3. Chapter 3

Damon and I have gone on several dates since the night at the ball. Our first kiss was on our first date after the fundraiser. It really wasn't too romantic or cute, it just kind of happened. He walked me to my porch after we had dinner together and gave me a goodnight kiss. We've been taking things slow, which is something I think we both need.

I've learned that his tough guy I-don't-give-a-shit attitude was just a front. That isn't meant to be cliche. Under the front was a guy who went through hell the past couple of years and was just trying to get through each day without being reminded of his past.

Despite that, he wasn't always angry or sad or scared. Damon could be very flirtatious and humorous when he was in a good mood. He could easily put a smile on my face by just making a small joke or comment. He also had this extremely cocky side to him that drove me nuts but at the same time pulled me to him like a magnet. At times he could be irresistible and the only thing I could think about when I looked at him was sex because he was so damn good looking. His charm only added to that.

Monday was the third of June and also my first day at work. I was an assistant to Doctor Meredith Fell, who was the main doctor in town. I was extremely nervous about my first day and expressed my feelings to Damon as we laid in his bed together Sunday night, "I just don't wanna mess up on my first day."

"Elena, you'll be fine I promise. You went through years of schooling for this. You're trained to do this, you're not just gonna forget everything you learned," Damon reassured me.

"I know but I just feel unprepared, like something bad is going to happen," I argued.

"That's just because it's your first day. You're gonna do great, you're a smart girl," he said as he wrapped his strong arm around my waist to pull me closer.

I snuggled in his welcoming chest and tried to forget about the fact I had to work tomorrow. Wondering about his first day as a SEAL, I asked, "Were you nervous for you first mission?"

He snorted, "Hell yeah, I was. There were so many times I thought if I messed up I would kill everyone. My hands were shaking so bad I wouldn't have been able to shoot anything spot on. I thought Alaric was going to murder me because my mind was running a mile a minute and he could tell I wasn't focused. After the first five minutes went by, I relaxed and the mission was successful. Everyone gets nervous on their first day of doing something, it's normal. You're going to do great, Elena."

"I hope so," I responded. Damon continued to rub my back and I felt my eyes starting to droop. I knew that I couldn't stay the night because not only did I have work in the morning- we were not that far in our relationship yet. We had only kissed once and cuddled once in a while. Nothing more. He wasn't even considered my boyfriend yet, although I had a feeling that might come soon.

"I should go," I said reluctantly.

Damon sighed and dropped his chin on my head before pulling back. "Yeah, you gotta get a good night's rest for tomorrow. I'll walk you to your car."

I grabbed my purse and we made our way downstairs with Cari trailing at our feet. Damon, like a true gentleman, opened the car door for me and as I was about to climb in, Cari jumped in the passenger seat. She looked at Damon expectantly as if to say, 'Let's go'. Me and Damon laughed and he called, "Cari, get down. We're not going."

Her ears dropped and she jumped back out of the car and sat at Damon's feet. I smiled and knelt down, "Sorry girl, not today." I petted her head for a second before standing back up.

"Do you have a lunch break tomorrow?" Damon asked.

"Yeah, probably around 12:30 or 1."

"Let me know and I'll meet you somewhere."

"Okay, I'll call you when I'm out. I'll see you tomorrow then," I responded as I climbed in the car.

Damon nodded and wished me luck before closing the door for me and leaning in the open window. "Not getting away without a kiss, are we Gilbert?" He asked with a smirk.

I smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek before saying goodnight. I laughed as his face fell in mock disappointment as he backed away from the window. I reversed out and gave him a wave before driving away.

When I got home, I had a text from Damon saying, _You'll pay for that._

I smiled and responded _Oohh I'm scared..._

_You should be. I can be scary when I want. Think about that when you try to sleep tonight._

_Haha. Yeah, okay. You'd never hurt me._

My phone didn't vibrate for another five minutes before he responded, _Fine, you win. I could never hurt you. Good luck tomorrow, you'll do great._

I smiled and replied, _Thanks :) Can't wait to see you at lunch!_

_Me neither, sweet dreams._

I smiled and set my alarm, feeling a lot better about work the next day.

* * *

The next morning, Jenna made breakfast for me for my 'special day'. "I'm so excited for you, Elena. You're going to love it!" She exclaimed as we sat down together.

"I hope so, I'm really nervous," I admitted.

"Don't be! I know you'll be just fine," she reassured me with a hug.

"Thanks! I'll call you when I'm on my way home," I said.

"Yes! I want to hear all about it!" she replied as I walked to my car and headed towards the hospital.

When I got there, Meredith was waiting for me at the front. The last time I had met her was my interview a few months ago. She was still friendly as ever, "Hi Elena, nice to see you again!"

I gave her a nervous smile and shook her hand, "You too! I'm excited to start."

As we walked to her office, she explained that in the first couple of months I would handle checkups, small injuries and sicknesses until I got some experience in me. I had expected this, so I wasn't too disappointed, although I couldn't wait until I started to help with surgeries.

Monday wasn't too busy and went by pretty slow, even though it was my first day. When 12 rolled around, Meredith said I was free to go on a lunch break. As I walked to my car I called Damon. On the last ring he answered, "Hello?"

"Hey, you awake?" I asked. He sounded groggy on the phone and I figured I had woken him up. I knew that he slept during the days a lot because it was easier for him and he had less nightmares.

"Yeah, just woke up. You on your break?"

"Yup. Wanna meet at the Grill?" I asked. The Grill was just my go to restaurant. I went there all the time when I was younger, I guess it was just a habit.

"Sounds good, see you there," Damon agreed and hung up.

When I got to the Grill, Damon already had a table for us. I noticed his wince when he stood up to greet me, but I didn't mention it. I knew his leg was hurting him a lot lately, but I didn't want to say anything unless he brought it up. He gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek and asked, "How's the first day going?"

I sat down in the booth and smiled, "Actually not bad. Meredith is really nice and she's just having me do easy work to get me started. I just do checkups and such. She doesn't want to overwhelm me."

"That's good. See, I told you it would be fine," Damon said with his trademark smirk.

After our waitress came and took our orders, I asked, "Do you still have your other apartment? Or do you just live at the house?" I knew he hadn't stayed in that apartment in a while and I didn't know if he still owned it.

"Well, I still own it but most of my stuff is at the house because I usually stay there. Why do you ask?" He responded, taking a sip of his coke.

"I have been thinking about getting an apartment and I knew-"

"Are you asking to move in with me? That's a little fast, even for me, Gilbert," Damon interrupted with a tone that let me know he was kidding.

"No you ass, I just figured if you didn't stay there then I could use yours until I figure something out. Obviously I would pay you for rent and-" I explained.

"That's a great idea, seriously Elena. I would love to help. I don't need my apartment, right now is not the best time for me to be by myself. You can have it and use it all you want until you find something." Damon told me before adding, "and don't worry about rent. I've got it covered."

"Thank you so much! And I will pay you. Seriously, Damon I would feel guilty not to. I'm going to pay rent. End of story," I argued.

Damon rolled his eyes, "It's my apartment. I'm choosing to let you use it. I pay rent."

I clenched my teeth together, I was going to pay the rent whether he like it or not. Damon saw that I was about to argue and suggested, "Let's talk about this later. I don't want to argue."

"Fine. What are your plans for today?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Well I have my appointment at 4. I'm not entirely sure what I'll do after. I know that Giuseppe is coming to dinner tonight," he said with a grunt. I frowned because I knew that his 'appointment' was with his psychologist and after he was always on edge. His father was always on his case so dinner with him probably wouldn't be the best when he was already feeling down.

"What time is your appointment done?"

"Five thirty."

"How about I pick you up cause I get out of work at five and you come over to my house for dinner? Alaric will be there and you won't have to see your dad," I offered, trying to make things easier for him.

He smiled, "Okay, sounds better than dinner with Stefan and dad."

"Good. I'll pick you up at five thirty then," I said.

The rest of the day went by slowly, not many people came in and most of my time was spent staring at the clock. Lucky for me, the nurse on the next shift, Ashley, came in around 4:45 and I was let out early on my first day.

I headed over to Caroline's bakery to spend the extra time I had before I had to pick Damon up. I knew it was doing well and I was so happy for her because this had been her life dream. I had already been there several times, but I couldn't get over how much I loved it. The inside had a nice, familiar interior design. Cute quotes were hung up on the walls. Mugs hand painted by Caroline rested on shelves and were sold with other small items. The smell was of freshly made cookies, I loved it more and more every time.

Caroline greeted me with her huge smile, "Hey! How was your first day?"

"It was good! Got let out early, decided to come hang out for a bit if you have time?" I asked. It didn't seem to busy so I hoped she had time to chill for a bit.

She nodded, "Yeah, come back here!"

I followed her into the back, where she had a little room to herself. I sat on the couch and asked, "Been busy today?"

She shrugged, "Average. So your first day went pretty well?"

"Yeah, I just did basic things. Had a few patients come in with small checkups. Day went by pretty slow actually, I was glad to be let out early," I admitted.

"I'm sure once you get going you'll get more things to do and it will get more exciting," Caroline offered.

"Yeah, I know. I'm not complaining. I'd rather be a little bored than overwhelmed on my first day, honestly. I probably wouldn't have been able to handle it," I chuckled.

Caroline laughed and said, "I'm sure you would have been fine either way. What are you doing tonight? Giuseppe is coming over and I refuse to have dinner with him when I am not forced."

I gave her a pointed look, "Stefan is your boyfriend. You're obligated to deal with his parents."

"Damon is practically your boyfriend and you don't deal with him," Caroline noted.

I frowned, "He is not my boyfriend."

Caroline gave a single laugh, "Sure he isn't! You guys have gone on several dates now, you always talk about him, you guys are practically dating. Speaking of him, he seems to be doing a little better lately. You have to be that reason."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, right. We don't even talk about anything that goes on in his life. Every time something comes up about the NAVY, or his father for that matter, he quickly changes the subject."

"Well, you're doing something right because Stefan sees a huge difference. He thinks it's you, too," Caroline insisted.

"Whatever you say, Care," I said with a chuckle. I glanced at my clock and saw it was near 5:15, "Speaking of him. I have to go pick him up. I'll talk to you later?"

"Yeah! See you later!"

* * *

I got to the doctor's office a little early so I sat in the waiting room for Damon. A little after 5:40 he came out, looking like hell, with an man who looked to be about sixty. I gave him a small smile, "Hey."

He attempted to smile back, but it looked more like a grimace. I offered a little support by rubbing his back when he got close enough. He seemed to relax a little and introduced me to his doctor, "Elena, this is Dr. Richards."

I gave him a friendly smile and shook his hand, "It's nice to meet you."

He returned a warm smile and gripped my hand, "You as well."

Dr. Richards had a twinkle in his eye, like he was a parent who knew something special. He seemed very friendly and genuine, which is why I knew Damon liked him a lot and trusted him. He was the one person who Damon actually talked to about his past and issues.

The elder turned to Damon, "Same time Wednesday?"

"See you then," Damon responded as we headed towards the door. As we walked to the car, I noticed his limp was very pronounced. Even though I knew his mood was already bad, I decided to ask about it, making sure my voice was light. "Are you going to get your knee looked at?"

He didn't answer for a minute and I thought I might have made him angry, but he responded, "Yeah, I guess I should. It's been getting worse."

Once we got in the car I asked him about the session, "How was your appointment?"

He shrugged, "The same old."

"Are you still up for dinner?" I asked. He seemed to be extra agitated and he might just want to go back home.

"Of course."

I nodded and figured he didn't want to talk, so I didn't push. His voice interrupted the silence, "I hate going there."

"What do you mean? I thought you liked Dr. Richards?" I asked as I pulled out of the parking lot.

"I do, it's not that I don't like him. It puts me in the worst mood and I always feel worse after going. I don't want to talk about any of it, I just want it to go away," he explained more.

I frowned, "Damon-"

"I know it's not going to go away. I know. I just never feel better and I feel like I'm getting worse. I'm tired, Elena," he said, and I could see his exhaustion on his face. It looked like it took all of his energy to even sit and keep his head up.

"It'll get better, Damon. Time will help, and you have to talk about it with someone. Dr. Richards can help, and if not him, Stefan is your brother, he loves you and would do anything to help you. I'm always here, too, Damon. If you feel comfortable, you can trust me," I tried to assure him.

He shook his head, as if he didn't believe anyone would help him. I was going to put my hand on his leg for comfort, but thought better. He looked like he was a world away, and if I tried to pull him back he would push me away even more.

I drove silently back to Jenna's, where she and Alaric were preparing dinner. "Hello," I greeted as I opened the door.

"Hi, Elena! How was it?" Jenna asked excitedly, referring to my first day at work. She came over and gave both me and Damon big hugs.

"It went well. It actually was a little slow, but I'm looking forward to working there," I responded. I went to the kitchen and helped set up the table as the last of dinner was prepared.

Damon and Alaric gave each other man hugs and sat down across from each other at the table with me sitting next to Damon and Jenna by Alaric.

I told them all about work and how my boss was. Jenna had a bunch of questions for me, I felt like she was a journalist. She was naturally a curious person and wanted to know all about my job. Alaric pitched in once and while, and mentioned that he previously had dated Meredith.

Damon snorted when Alaric revealed that piece of information. I looked over to see a sideways smirk on his face as he chuckled to himself.

"Something funny?" I asked, feeling like I was missing something.

"Oh nothing, Meredith was just extremely comfortable with herself. A loud one to," Damon shared.

I frowned and lightly hit him, "Gross. C'mon Damon!"

He snickered and innocently asked, "What?"

I rolled my eyes and looked to see Alaric's face as red as a tomato. The rest of the dinner was lighter and Damon seemed to release some tension from his appointment earlier. When dinner was finished and everything was cleaned, I drove Damon and I to his house.

Unfortunately, Giuseppe was still there when we arrived. His cold glare fell upon us as we walked in the kitchen where he, his girlfriend Claire, Stefan and Caroline were sitting. "Where have you been?" he demanded.

Damon didn't answer for a minute as he greeted Cari first. Once he stood up he responded, "With Elena. Jenna cooked us dinner."

Giuseppe tossed me a dirty look and but chose not to say anything else. Damon led me upstairs to his room. I sat down next to him at the foot of his bed. He grabbed my hand and took a deep breath.

"Is something wrong?" I asked after a minute.

He smiled and shook his head before his blue eyes met mine. "Elena, I know the timing isn't great and I have a lot of baggage that I haven't really dealt with. Things with me will never be easy and I can't promise that I'll be able to always make you happy but I would always try my best if you let me have the chance. I've really like you and it would be a privilege to have you as my girlfriend."

My mouth hung open in shock, out of all the things I expected him to say this was not it. He looked so shy and unsure of himself while he told me this. I took away any doubts in his head after I kissed him softly on the lips. I pulled away and smiled, "I would love to be your girlfriend, Damon Salvatore."

His rare genuine smile followed and he gave me another kiss, this one more passionate than the previous. His hand held the back of my head as it hit the bed. I felt his tongue slide along my lips, begging for entry that I allowed.

I moaned as his body pinned mine to the bed. His hand was at the buckle of my jeans when I pulled away. "We should stop," I suggested as his lips sucked at my neck.

He sighed but agreed and pulled away. To lighten the mood I joked, "You're not gonna get me just cause you have a way with words and some handsome qualities."

He smiled and replied, "Well, I tried my best."

I laughed and gave him one last kiss on the lips before getting up. His hand pulled at mine, "Stay for a bit."

"I have to work tomorrow," I said as I grabbed my purse. "However, I believe we have news to share with everyone while they're here?"

He laughed and stood up with me, "I believe we do. Father will be even happier with me after this."

I smack his chest and roll my eyes. "That man sure is hard to please. Can't wait to see how this goes."

We walked back into the kitchen where everyone was still chatting. I couldn't help the huge smile on my face as Damon announced, "Elena and I have something to share."

Everyone's attention turned towards us as Damon smiled at me and said, "Elena and I are together now."

Caroline squealed and gave both of us tight hugs. She whispered, 'finally' into my ear when she hugged me. I rolled my eyes in response. Stefan politely congratulated both of us. He seemed to be happy about it but I couldn't easily tell. He gave Damon a brotherly hug and whispered something in his older brother's ear. Damon had a serious look on his face and nodded to whatever was said. Giuseppe didn't say anything, only stared me down. My eyes fell to the floor at the unwanted stares. Claire sat behind everyone with a look of disgust on her face. Seeing how the two adults acted it was a miracle Damon and Stefan came out of their childhoods with any capabilities of love and emotion.

As if he thought I was being attacked, Damon stood in between his father and me, blocking the death glares from reaching me. Damon stared at his father like he was waiting for a response, almost as if he wanted one. His shoulders fell and he started towards the door when he was met with silence. I followed and caught up with him when we were at my car. "Well that went just as expected," he said.

I nodded. "Hopefully he'll come around," I thought aloud.

He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead. "Anyone who doesn't like you is nuts."

I smiled into his chest. "Well then there are a lot of crazy people in this world," I joked.

He chuckled. "I guess you should get rest for work. I'm busy tomorrow so I don't know if I'll see you. Have a great day at work and call me when you get home so I know you got there safely," he said.

"Okay, I will. Goodnight."

"Night, Elena."

I slid into my passenger seat and before I drove away I left him with, "Oh and Damon? Tonight is the happiest I've been in a long time."


	4. Chapter 4

"Elena, you're not trying to tell me you and Damon haven't had sex, you two can't keep your eyes off each other!" Bonnie exclaimed as she, Caroline, and I shared dinner at the grill one Friday afternoon.

My cheeks turned red, "We've only been dating for a couple of weeks, it's not like I'm going to wait till marriage, but we still are taking it slow."

"Girl, you need to get on that. _Literally._ And then report back with details because if I was gonna cheat on Stefan with anyone it would be Damon," Caroline revealed.

Bonnie and I bursted out in giggles. I was the first to recover, "Caroline! That's an awful thing to say!"

"It's not like I'm actually going to cheat on Stefan, but everyone in this town knows Damon is equivalent to a greek god. He's absolutely gorgeous!" She defended herself.

I rolled my eyes and took a sip of my drink. "Anyway, Damon and I will do the dirty when we're ready."

My phone started ringing and I looked down to see the name _Damon_ pop up. "Speak of the devil, excuse me for two seconds," I exited myself from the table to talk privately.

"Hey, what's up?" I answered.

"Babe," he slurred. I sighed, he was drunk. News leaks were happening about speculations on the failed mission. More and more reporters started calling the house and asking for interviews, which were always declined. Damon wasn't dealing with the publicity well. Strangers approached him about what they thought happened. Some would say nice things, thanking him for his service. That wasn't what bothered him. There were people who would get a hold of his number to say cruel things to him, accusing him of killing his teammates. I don't know what happened when he was in Afghanistan, but I was sure that Damon would never purposely put his friends in danger or 'kill them'.

The worst thing people would say is that he was exaggerating his story or making it up. That infuriated me the most because if they stepped in his shoes for one fucking day they would see the visible and mental scars that were left from war.

"Where are you?" I asked, knowing that I would have to go pick him up.

"Home," he answered. I heard Stefan in the background arguing with Damon.

"Is everything okay?"

Before he could answer, I heard more fighting and then the phone went silent. I thought the conversation had ended until I heard Stefan's voice, "Hi Elena, it's Stefan. I know you're at dinner so I'm apologizing for Damon. He is having a bad day."

I knew what bad days were, enough to know that 'bad' was an understatement. What were said to be Damon's good days still were rough. Bad was horrible. As in he usually didn't get out of bed. If he did, he was either extremely irritated and angry all day or plagued by flashbacks and nightmares. His bad days were horrible because no matter what any of us tried to do to help, they never got any better. He was stuck in his own personal hell.

"What happened?" I asked, knowing that if he was getting wasted at home then something specific must have triggered it.

"Ever since he came back from therapy he's been in a horrible mood. I asked him what they were talking about to get him so worked up, but he didn't tell me much," he explained.

"Well, I'll stop by after dinner to check up on him," I promised. Stefan did so much for his brother, I knew that dealing with Damon drunk the entire night wasn't at the top of his priorities.

"Thank you, Elena. Again, I'm so sorry about this."

"Don't apologize, it's not your fault. I'll be over soon," I said before hanging up and heading back to the table.

My face must have given away my concern because Bonnie immediately asked what was wrong. I shook my head, "Damon's upset about something. It's nothing big."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and said, "Of course he is."

Caroline's eyebrows raised in surprise, while I whipped my head towards her with a glare. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I snapped.

She squirmed in her seat and rushed to explain, "Elena, all I want you to be is happy. I just think Damon is troubled and not the best guy for you."

Before I could yell, Caroline stepped in, "Bonnie. You don't even know Damon, he is going through a lot. Be a little more understanding."

"All I'm saying is the he has been in numerous bar fights, he drinks like a fish. He's practically a homebody at the bar. He always is angry and rude to people. And how many women has he been with since he's been back? Sure, I don't know him well but those don't seem like 'good guy' qualities," she said.

My fists curled in anger. I clenched my teeth and seethed, "You don't know the first thing about Damon, Bonnie. He's a great guy."

Bonnie either chose to ignore me or didn't hear me because she continued, "None of us even know what happened to him in Afghanistan! For all we know he could be going crazy! It's not like it's uncommon with soldiers, they go fight in war and come back a completely different person and never-"

"Shut up!" I half yelled, directing strangers attention to our table. I continued in an angry whisper, "If you want to be a complete judgmental bitch about this, then go right ahead. I don't want to hear any of this."

I grabbed my purse and stormed out of the restaurant to my car, still furious. I climbed in my car and slammed the door. I couldn't believe the nerve Bonnie had. Going crazy? Was she fucking serious? Damon was _not _going crazy. She didn't know what the hell she was talking about. I had never been so angry at my best friend in my life.

I pulled away and sped to the Salvatore house, anxious to see my boyfriend. The entire time I gripped the wheel so hard my knuckles were white. In my head, I couldn't get over what happened at dinner. I wondered what Caroline did when I left and I started to feel a little bad I stormed out like that and she had to deal with the rest.

Once I got there, I headed straight to Damon's room and passed Stefan in the living room. I quickly said hi and practically ran up the stairs. His door was open and I saw him sitting on the side of his bed, staring at a picture. His face held the upmost anguish and I could tell he was fighting back tears. My anger diminished immediately and I knocked lightly against his wooden door to let him know my presence. I knew better than to come up from behind him without a warning because he'd react one of two ways out of fear of being attacked. He'd either react violently or have a panic attack; neither of the two options were ideal.

He turned his head enough to see who it was and returned to stare at the picture. I slowly walked to take a seat next to him. He still hadn't said anything to me. He clearly had sobered up since I last talked to him on the phone. The both of us sat in silence, I didn't want to push him so I waited for him to start.

I glanced at the picture and saw a picture of him and a tall, built, blonde haired man. They were both in uniform and had big smiles on their faces. I don't think I've seen Damon with a smile as big as that one before.

"His name's Cam," he suddenly said. I watched his face as he looked up towards the ceiling and blinked. I took his free hand and held it between mine. Once he gathered himself he explained, "He was my best friend."

"Tell me about him," I offered because it was good to remember the happy things about the loved ones you've lost as opposed to remembering how you lost them.

He set the picture down and started talking, "He was this cocky guy who was two years older than me. The first time I met him in Iraq we almost got into a fight. We ended up becoming brothers and went in Afghanistan together. He was hilarious and always kept everyone in a good mood, even when things were rough. He was the bravest and smartest soldier I have ever met. He would do anything to keep his teammates alive and was the best person I know."

His voice cracked at the end he looked away. I reached and turned his face towards mine to see a tear falling down. Without saying a word, I took him in my arms. It was the first time Damon shared anything remotely serious with me, I knew how hard that was for him and I didn't want to screw it up by saying the wrong thing. Damon wrapped his arms around my waist and squeezed tightly.

No more tears fell down after the first one. Even when I hugged him, he held everything else in. When he pulled away, he leaned in and gave me a soft kiss. "Thanks for listening, and dealing with that," he said. His cheeks were red with embarrassment.

"You can share anything with me, Damon. I want to listen and be able to help," I said seriously.

He gave me another, longer kiss. "How was dinner?" he asked, changing the subject.

I suppressed an angry grunt. I laid back on the bed and said, "It went okay. Bonnie and I got into a fight."

I really didn't want to get into why and make Damon upset about stupid girl drama, especially when it was about him. "About what?" he asked, putting his hand on my leg.

"Stupid stuff. She's being her usual judgmental self about me being in a relationship and doesn't want me getting hurt," I explained, making sure to roll my eyes to let him know how ridiculous I thought it was.

"I would never intentionally hurt you," he promised. He shifted and rolled over on top of me with his arms on either side of me to keep his body from squishing mine.

I smiled and kissed his nose, "_I _know that. _She _doesn't."

With one smooth movement, Damon had me on top of him. He stared at me intently, his eyes taking in my body. My cheeks turned pink from shyness. "What?" I asked with a nervous giggle.

"You're beautiful," he breathed. He sat up, his face inches from mine.

I smiled and held his face between my hands, giving him another long kiss. My one hand reached for the hem of his shirt. He quickly stopped me and asked, "Are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure in my life," I responded easily, while I continued to get him out of his shirt.

To my dismay he stopped me again and looked at me with worried eyes. "Don't ask questions," he pleaded.

"What do you mean?"

As soon as his shirt was off I understood his plea. On his left shoulder were two circular scars that looked as if they were caused by bullets. His stomach had a longer scar that ran from his rib down to his hip. Another thicker, more noticeable scar was lower on his stomach, almost at his pant line. On his back were thinner scars, as if they were just serious scratches at one point.

Tears gathered in my eyes and I couldn't help but to gasp. "Oh Damon," I whispered as I took it all in. Besides his scars and mutilations, Damon's body was perfect. He was a bit skinny, so I could see the outline of his ribs. I assumed this was from his deployment, but he was getting healthier by the day. I could still see the muscles in his arms and back. When he sat up, his six pack was easily noticeable.

Along with his strength were more parts of him that told gave away his SEAL background. Hanging from his neck were his dog tags that had his identification engraved on them. Damon had more tattoos besides the _never forget _with the four sets of initials and a date on the inner side of his arm that I saw the first time I met him. A larger tattoo that read, _Dead Upon the Field of Glory_ was spread across his upper back between his shoulders. A tattoo on his right rib read _I've served my time in Hell. _On his left shoulder was a large seal trident. I lightly traced the last one with my right hand. My other hand rested at his neck.

He shook his head and kept his eyes lowered. He looked up to me with wide eyes and begged again, "Please, don't ask about them."

I covered my mouth and asked in shock, "How can I not? Who did this to you?"

Damon started to get up, but I put my hand on his chest and forced him back on the bed. "I knew this was a bad idea, you shouldn't have seen these. I understand if you don't-"

"Stop," I demanded in a harsh voice. I forced him to look at me as I reassured, "I'm not going to ask you about the scars or tattoos, Damon. Of course I want to know and take care of you, but not until you're ready. You're beautiful, Damon. These scars- they're just a part of that."

Damon's mouth dropped a little and I knew he was speechless. I gave him a kiss and lowered myself so that I could continue to touch my lips to every single part of him, making sure I was slow and extra tender around his scars. Once I finished, Damon said, "I want you, now."

I smirked, "Then take me."

The next morning when I woke up Damon was nowhere to be found. I smiled as I remembered falling asleep with my head in the crook of his neck and our arms draped around each other. The smell of bacon reached my nose and I smiled. After quickly putting on one of his sweatshirts and my yoga pants, I skipped down the stairs to the kitchen.

I found Damon cooking breakfast, but unfortunately I was not the only recipient. Caroline and Stefan were chatting at the island. Caroline saw me first and smirked, "Good morning, Elena."

Three pairs of eyes turned to me which made my cheeks turn bright red, "Morning everyone."

Damon gave me a kiss and asked how I slept. "Good, where did you go?" I asked before slipping my arms around him from behind as he cooked.

"Couldn't sleep, so I watched TV downstairs," he replied.

"Did you sleep at all?" I asked, already knowing the answer would be no. Damon's sleep schedule was that of an owl.

He shrugged. "No, but I'll get some today. I don't have any plans," He turned around and added with a smile, "Now, take a seat and let me feed you some breakfast."

I followed his direction and took a seat next to Stefan. He turned and gave me a half smile, "Have a good night?"

I slapped him on the arm, "Shut up!"

He laughed for a second, but whispered, "Seriously though. However you cheered him up, I'm glad you did. He needed some distractions."

I smiled but didn't have a chance to respond because Damon turned around and handed us all a plate of breakfast. The four of us chatted about nonsense until Caroline headed out. She worked at the bakery from 9am - 9pm, mostly because she owned it and wanted to hire the least amount of employees as possible.

The rest of us had the day off. I turned to Stefan and asked, "What are your plans for the day?"

He shrugged, "Damon and I were supposed to meet for lunch with our dad, but he cancelled because of work. I'd like to take you somewhere though, I need your help."

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. I had no idea what Stefan would need my help for. "What can I help you with?"

Stefan smiled and replied, "You'll see. Can you be ready in twenty minutes?"

I nodded and agreed to meet in the kitchen by 10:15. Damon and I headed back upstairs to his room. I plopped on his bed and rolled to my side so I could face him as he stripped his clothes off for a shower. I stared at the _Dead Upon the Field of Glory _ tattoo and asked, "When did you get that tattoo? The one on your back?"

Without turning around he answered, "After I got back from my last tour in Iraq. Alaric and I got tatted. He got the beginnings of a sleeve on his right arm."

"What made you choose that quote?" I wondered aloud. The quote was pretty depressing to say the least.

"Things I saw, experienced. A lot of people I met and the way they died," he explained. He wrapped a towel around himself and walked to the bathroom, to where I followed him.

"Are they the initials on your arm?" I asked tentatively. I knew this would surely be a sensitive subject and I was approaching dangerous grounds.

I waited as he turned on the shower and felt the temperature. He didn't answer until he stepped in, where the quickly rising steam prevented me from seeing him through the glass. "Part of them," he admitted.

I bit my tongue and thought about whether or not I should ask more about it. The tightness in his voice warned me not to. My decision making was interrupted when Damon's voice called my name.

I cleared my throat, "Yeah?"

"It's just a tattoo. It had way more meaning then than it does now. Please don't think anything of it," he pleaded.

"But you just said-" I argued.

"I know what I said. I don't want to talk about any of my tattoos or anything else," he said, in reference to his scars.

I sighed in defeat, "Okay."

There was a tense silence for the rest of his shower. I changed and did my hair and makeup while Damon put on sweats and a T-shirt. When I walked out of the bathroom, Damon was laying on his bed watching TV. Cari rested next to him with her head on his chest. I smiled and sat on the edge of the bed on his other side. "You gonna sleep now?" I asked.

He nodded and said, "Please don't think too much about what I said."

"I just want you to be happy," I replied, caressing his face with my hand.

He smiled and leaned into my hand. "I know," he whispered. "Thank you for caring."

I kissed him and pet Cari for a second before leaving to go out with Stefan. He was waiting in the car when I got downstairs. I jogged to the passenger door and climbed in. "Sorry," I apologized, "I didn't mean to keep you waiting."

He waved his hand to shush me. "It's all good. I'm just glad you're able to come."

"Of course. Now tell me what I'm helping you out with, I'm dying from curiosity!" I exclaimed.

He laughed but responded seriously, "You'll see when we get there. First, I wanna talk about you and Damon."

My cheeks turned red and I nervously played with my thumbs. I figured this was the 'he is my family don't hurt him' lecture. To my surprise Stefan started with, "To be honest, in the beginning when you and Damon met, I didn't want you guys dating. Not because of you, because of him."

He chuckled when he saw my eyes grow with surprise. He continued as he kept his eyes on the road, "Damon was, well still is, in a dark place. I want you to understand that, Elena. I'm not trying to make you run away or rethink you're relationship."

I nodded but stayed quiet to allow him to continue. "You're good for him, I can tell. I just want you to know what you're getting into before it's too deep. I don't want either of you hurt, but I care deeply about Damon. He's my brother and he's been through hell and I don't want a bad relationship to ruin that."

"I'm not going to hurt him, I promise," I interrupted. I couldn't imagine doing anything that would cause more pain to Damon. The thought brought tears to my eyes.

"I know that you wouldn't intentionally. Like I said, you're good for him and you make him happy. But the relationship is new and you haven't seen everything yet. There's a lot that Damon tries to keep hidden and when it comes out it's difficult to deal with. Katherine left when-"

"Wait, who is Katherine?" I asked, completely confused.

"You haven't had the exes talk yet?" I shook my head. "Oh shit, well I guess I'll tell you anyway. She was his ex girlfriend, they met in high school. Started dating before his first deployment to Iraq. She ended up cheating on him and leaving him when he came home. When he left for Afghanistan, his next tour, I have never seen him so defeated. It was like he had nothing to fight for anymore. Saying bye to him then felt like saying goodbye to him forever, I thought he wasn't coming back."

I covered my mouth, how much pain has Damon dealt with in his life? Stefan continued, "And I hated her for that, for taking away the fight in my brother. I still hate her. But after a lot of thinking about and questioning her decision, I see her side. Not the cheating, but caring about someone who is in the military, especially the SEALs is hard. They are gone constantly and you never know where they are deployed to and if they're in danger. We won't have to worry about that because Damon is no longer a SEAL, but we all have to deal with the toll war took on him."

"Stefan, I had no idea about Katherine. That's terrible. I want you to know that I would never leave Damon because he has too many problems or however you want to put it. I want to help him get better," I defended myself and my feelings for Damon.

He nodded and pulled off the highway. "I believe you, I never doubted you care about him. I just want you to know there is a possibility Damon will never fully heal from all of this. He might not ever be completely okay. I know that sounds morbid, but it's a possible reality."

"I don't care. Of course I want him to get better, but if he doesn't that's not going to change my feelings for him," I responded.

Stefan's shoulders relaxed as if a weight was pulled off him. "I worry about him, that's why I'm having this conversation with you. It's not because I think you're like Katherine or something. I think you're great," he offered.

I smiled and thanked him. When Stefan pulled into the parking lot of Tiffany & Co, my eyes went wide. "Are you proposing to me? After all of that?" I joked.

He chuckled, "I'm here to confess my love for you, Elena."

I smiled and said, "Seriously though. You're planning on proposing to Caroline?"

A giant smile spread across his face as he explained, "I want to on our three year anniversary, which is two months away. I'm asking for your help in picking a ring."

I couldn't contain my excitement as I reached over and hugged him, "Of course! Oh my god, this is great! I would love to help!"

We walked into Tiffany & Co and were greeted immediately by two women workers. "Mr. Salvatore, how may we help you?"

He politely responded, "I'm just looking around today. Thank you."

They both nodded and said to call if he needed anything. As they walked away I asked, "Been here before?"

He shook his head, "Fortunately or not, my dad made the Salvatore name pretty big. It's not often we get recognized."

I scrunched my nose, I didn't know that the Salvatores were that big of a deal. Stefan didn't seem to like it, but wasn't uncomfortable. I suddenly remember Damon and I's first date at the fundraiser. Damon seemed squirmy and extremely agitated with all the attention the reporters gave us. Stefan, as I now recalled, answered the questions smoothly and gave a great smile for the 'paparazzi' as he and Caroline entered.

Stefan must have noticed the look on my face because he reassured, "Mostly because it's a small area and my dad handles a lot of the bigger cases. It's not as if we get followed around like a celebrity, there is just a little attention on us."

I didn't say anything and kept my eyes on the two women workers, who both were giggling and watching Stefan like adolescents. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention to the reason we were there. "So what are you thinking for the ring?" I asked.

Stefan ended up buying a stunning platinum band with a round 14 carat diamond at the center, with two smaller stones on either side. Gold lining intertwined the stones in the most perfect way. The ring was absolutely gorgeous and I was so excited for Caroline. After we checked out, in which I didn't even want to hear how much the ring actually cost, we headed straight back to Stefan and Damon's home.

I knew that Damon would be sleeping for a while, so I went to my house and packed a few things up in my room. I wanted to ask Damon more about the apartment because I desperately needed a space of my own now that I was more independent. Looking at old pictures was both fun and saddening. When I saw a picture of me and my parents the night of my junior year prom, I started crying. Sometimes I forgot how much I actually missed them. How I missed their guidance and constant love and support.

Tears poured down my face as I packed more pictures and memories. I didn't even notice what time it was until I got a call from Damon at five in the evening.

"How was your day?" he asked after we greeted each other.

I tried to stop my tears and gather myself, but I ended up sucking in a lot of air and hiccuping. "Hey, what's wrong? Are you crying?" He asked immediately, the concern was evident in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah," I sniffed, "I'm fine. Just looking at old pictures. Remembering my parents." I wiped my tears in an effort to pull myself together.

"Oh, babe. I'm coming over now," he reassured.

"You don't have to," I argued. I knew how much he hated driving.

"I'l be there in ten minutes," he promised and the conversation ended. In all honesty, I was glad he was coming over. I wanted company - someone who could understand. And if anyone could understand loss, it was Damon.

Like he promised, he was there within ten minutes. I heard him greet Jenna and soon enough he was at my door, Cari at his feet. "I brought someone who might be able to help," he said.

I chuckled through my tears as Cari ran over and licked my face. I pet her face and wrapped my arms around her. Damon came and sat next to me. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me in. "Tell me about them," he asked.

I told him story after story about my beloved parents. He listened intently and laughed at funny parts and was quiet during more serious stories. Once in a while, he would relate a story to one with his parents, mostly when his mom was alive. After my last story, I realized it was closing in on eight o'clock. "I'm sorry for keeping you for so long," I apologized to him. We were now laying on the floor next to each other, pictures all over.

"Shh. I want to be here and hear these stories. Don't ever apologize," he reprimanded. "What are you packing up for anyway?" He added.

I sat up, "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanna move in your apartment soon, of course if it's still okay with you."

"Yeah, that's completely fine with me. I have to move the rest of my stuff out but by next weekend it'll be clear of my shit," he said.

"Thank you so much, it means a lot," I thanked him. He helped me clean up the pictures and put more of my crap in boxes. He laughed when he found pictures of me and Jeremy when we were younger. One was of me naked in the bathtub, making a silly face at the camera. He took the picture and asked if he could keep it. "I mean, I don't care," I responded.

He chuckled again and pocketed it. I rolled my eyes and slapped him. "What? You're adorable!" He innocently exclaimed.

"Next time we go to your house, I'm asking Stefan for embarrassing pictures of you," I warned.

"You won't find any, I was a stud, even as a kid," he smirked.

I raise an eyebrow, "Sure you were."

Damon and I finished up and headed downstairs. "Do you want to eat something before you leave?" I asked.

He shook his head, "No. I'll just eat something at home. Have a good day at work tomorrow."

I nodded and kissed him, "You okay to drive home?"

"Yeah, it's fine," he replied. He kissed me one more time and called Cari and headed out. I watched him with a smile as he drove away, I hadn't felt so happy with someone in a long time.


	5. Chapter 5

The fourth of July seemed to creep up quickly. Damon told me that every year since the Salvatore's have lived in Mystic Falls, they have held a giant party in which most of the town comes. It's held by Giuseppe, so it is a 'high society' event. One of the biggest of the year, apparently. The party was to be on Saturday, the fourth. Luckily, I was able to get work off all weekend and could help prepare for it and actually attend. I knew how patriotic Damon and Stefan were, so I wanted things to go right.

Caroline and I were now helping clean up the yard at the Salvatore's. She explained to me all about the annual event. "It's huge!" She exclaimed, "I think half the town shows up, most of them being snooty, rich people. But it's still fun, last year Matt, Bonnie, Tyler and some other people from our class came. There's a fireworks show at the end, plenty of catered food and unlimited drinks. You can't go wrong there!"

I laughed, "Was Damon there last year?"

She shook her head. As she picked some weeds out of the garden she responded, "No. He was deployed somewhere in Iraq I think. Katherine was there, probably already fucking her future toy."

There was no disguising her hatred for the women. Damon and I talked briefly about her once, but all I got out was pretty much what Stefan told me in a simpler way. _"I dated her for a couple of years, she couldn't handle being with someone who was gone so much so we broke up." _ Those were his words and his tone held no emotion. I didn't push anything that night. He would only have gotten mad and a fight was the last thing I wanted with him.

"Were you ever friends with her?" I wondered aloud. Since Damon and Stefan were so close, I would imagine that Caroline spent a lot of time with Katherine.

I watered the flowers and unplugged the hose. The garden was beautiful, colorful flowers were spread everywhere and it was surrounded by a short stone wall. I knew that Giuseppe dropped thousands of dollars on housekeepers to keep the whole estate as nice as possible.

We sat down in the patio to take a break as she said, "No. I mean, we got along and were polite to each other, but I knew there was something about her I didn't like. She was very cold and hard to talk to. Snobby and righteous. I think the only person who liked her was Giuseppe, only because she was pretty much a socialite who happened to live in the south."

"It seems weird Damon would deal with someone like her. He hates how his father is and Katherine sounds like she was a younger, female version of him," I said as I poured myself a glass of freshly squeezed lemonade. I was glad Caroline and I had some time alone to talk. Stefan was out getting fireworks and Damon was cleaning the bar and getting more alcohol.

"Katherine had a sex appeal and she was deceiving and manipulative. She would lure guys in and they'd fall on their knees and kiss her toes. She treated Damon like shit but he didn't notice because he was so blinded. It took a long time until he stood up for himself. Stefan and him actually got into it one night right after Damon found out about her affair. Damon was going to forgive her, but Stefan pushed him not to. He finally listened and broke up with the bitch," Caroline explained.

"Anyway," she continued, "enough talk about her. I have to ask you something. Stefan's been acting really weird lately, like shady. I don't think he's cheating on me or anything, but something is definitely up and I'm a little worried. Do you know anything? Has Damon said anything about it?"

I knew that Stefan was just nervous about proposing. Their anniversary was coming up soon and he was going to do it then, he probably was just anxious. I acted surprised and put on a concerned facade, "No, I haven't heard anything. Maybe he's stressed about school?"

She nodded, but didn't seem to buy it. "I don't know. It's probably nothing, just me reading into things. But if you hear anything, please let me know. Maybe you could try and trick Damon into telling you? I'm sure he knows."

I laughed and responded, "Caroline. You know Damon wouldn't tell me shit about Stefan's secrets."

She pouted, "I know. I guess I should just forget about it."

"I'm sure it's nothing bad," I comforted her. Inside, I smiled. I knew how cheesy and romantic Caroline was at heart. She was going to be so happily surprised when he proposed. There wasn't a chance she was going to turn it down.

We finished up the garden and decided to cool down by laying in the gigantic pool in the backyard. The pool was very modern, despite the antique mansion that was next to it. There were three circular levels of the pool, one being a hot tub. Surrounding the pool were tiki torches and the pool area was surrounded by a short, metal gate. The whole area was beautiful.

It was dusk by the time Caroline and I made it to the pool. Since it was still muggy, I chose to go where it was cooler. I grabbed a floaty jumped in. The temperature of the water was chilly, but in the heat of summer it felt good. About 20 minutes into our swim, Damon and Stefan came home. When they walked out back, both of them were in swim trunks and no shirts. I noticed that Stefan, too, had a tattoo. On his left shoulder was a large flower with a design in the middle with the initials ES. It took up almost his whole shoulder/back area. Damon was the first to teasingly say, "You two are supposed to be working!"

I smiled and responded, "We finished and it was hot so we jumped in. We didn't know you'd be home by now."

Damon immediately jumped in and when he came up from underneath, I swear it could have been out of a movie. Droplets of water fell off his face as he smiled and pulled my floaty toward him. I have never seen a sexier sight in my life. Had Caroline and Stefan not been in the pool with us, I would have jumped him.

"How was your day?" he asked while he pulled me around the pool. I rolled on my stomach so my face was closer to his.

"Good. We finished cleaning the garden up and cleaned the screened in porch. Everything should be ready for tomorrow," I promised while playing with his wet hair. Damon smiled as I started massaging his head.

"Now we get to relax for the night. Tomorrow we'll just prepare some of the food and we'll be all set. People will probably get here around two or three," he explained.

"I'm excited," I said, "I love parties. It'll be good to catch up with everyone, too. Some of the people Caroline said were coming I haven't seen in years. When's the last time you came?"

Damon shrugged, "About five or six years ago. I've hardly been home at all ever since I was in the Navy. But Stefan has held the tradition well and I've heard great things about them."

I jumped off my floaty and swam into his arms, "I'm glad you're here now."

He kissed me and wrapped his arms under my butt so he was carrying me underwater. "Me too," he replied.

We were interrupted by Stefan's voice when he yelled, "Get a room!"

I turned around and stuck my tongue out and them. They both snickered and got out of the pool. "Fine, we'll give you space here. Just get at it already," Caroline remarked and gave me a wink as she walked away.

Damon and I goofed around in the pool for a while until it got chilly. We headed back inside and saw that Giuseppe was talking with Caroline and Stefan. I greeted him immediately, "Hello, Giuseppe."

I was surprised when he gave me a semi-friendly smile and replied, "Hello, Elena. Are you coming to the party tomorrow?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. He knew I was coming, I have been helping out getting ready for it, and I was Damon's girlfriend. Obviously I was making it. "Definitely, I can't wait."

He nodded his head and bragged, "Well, it is the nicest party held in town."

Damon sat on the barstool and chose not to comment as he poured two glasses of wine for us. I smiled politely, "Like I said before, I can't wait."

We sat and chatted with Damon's family until one. I had more glasses of wine than I thought and I was a giggly mess when Damon and I headed to his room. "You're wasted," he laughed as I tripped on a stair.

"I am not!" I argued. However, I had to grab his arm for support. In one swift motion, he was carrying me bridal style to his room.

I giggled like a little girl as he threw me gently on the bed. He got up and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. "Where are you going?" I pouted, reaching for him.

"I have to brush my teeth," he replied, using his hands to pull mine off his waist. "I'll be right back," he promised.

Like he promised, soon enough he was crawling into bed with me. "Why are you letting me sleep here?" I asked. I wondered why he was allowing me to stay, he and I never literally slept together. Besides the first time we had sex, but I'm still convinced he left the bed as soon as I was sleeping.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Because you're my girlfriend, and we've been drinking. I can't drive you home."

I shook my head, "No. That's not what I mean. You never let me stay the night, and actually sleep with you."

He sighed, "Elena, I don't want to talk about this now."

Suddenly, I felt a lot soberer. "Damon, I'm serious. I want to talk about this. We've been dating for over a month."

He closed his eyes and rolled on his back. He quietly said, "It's not you I don't trust, Elena. I have nightmares, and not your typical nightmares. They're really bad flashbacks that cause me to scream sometimes, or thrash out. I don't wanna scare you."

"Damon, that's not going to scare me away. It's completely understandable that you have those. I'm not going to run away cause you have nightmares, flashbacks, episodes, whatever you want to call them," I promised.

"I don't want to hurt you," he whispered.

I reached over and forced him to look at me. "You're not going to, trust me."

Damon gave in and we both stayed in the bed, although I think I was the only one who slept because the next morning Damon had huge bags under his eyes and looked exhausted. I didn't want to say anything because it was the day of the party and I didn't want to argue. Most of the day was spent getting ready and doing last minute things.

People began showing up around 2 pm. Some of my high school friends I hadn't seen in years were the first to show up, two including Tyler and Matt. As soon as I saw them I gave them bear hugs. "Matt!" I yelled as I ran to him.

He smiled and pulled me in for a long embrace. Matt and I had known each other since birth, even dated in high school at one point. We both realized that the most either of us would be to each other were best friends and we split on a happy note. However, like every other friendship I had, I cut it off when my parents died. It was great to see Matt again. He looked very healthy and fit, I knew it was his dream to be in the army.

Matt released me from our hug and I introduced him to Damon. "Damon, this is Matt, my longtime friend. Matt, this is my boyfriend Damon."

Damon and Matt shook hands and got into talking about the Military together. I was happy they seemed to like each other and get along. I wandered off and found Bonnie and Caroline talking to a few girls by the pool. I didn't recognize them, so I figured they didn't go to our high school. Caroline immediately introduced me, "Elena, these are the girls who work at my bakery. Jessica, Emily, and Trisha. Girls, this is Elena, my other best friend from high school."

We got along great right away. I could see why Caroline got along with them, they were all young, laid back, hilarious girls who seemed to have a bright outlook on life, much like Caroline did. They also had no shame in their private lives. We talked about dildos, masturbating, personal sex secrets, even getting pap smears. I hadn't laughed this hard in years.

"But really! Girls shouldn't feel embarrassed about talking about masturbating, guys talk about it all the time. We should be able to talk about it without weird looks or 'ewww, you do that!' It's ridiculous!" Jessica raved.

"I agree. It's important for girls to know their body and what pleasures them, because if they don't, the guy certainly isn't." Trisha added.

"Let's not forget that it just feels good! We don't need a reason, it just feels so damn good!" Caroline admitted. We all laughed and agreed.

When they got into personal details about their sex lives and quirky things boyfriends do, I laughed but tried not to share much about me and Damon. Not that I thought Damon would be mad, the world knows if there is one thing he is confident about, it's his ability to please women in bed. I was too shy about sharing those things, I thought it was private information that didn't need to be told.

By six thirty, everyone at the party that I had run into was at least tipsy. Most of the boys were rowdy and having a good time. I found Damon playing bags with Stefan, Matt, and Tyler. I ran to him in my red wedges and white dress. He wrapped an arm around my waist while holding a beer in his free hand. "Hey babe, where have you been?" he asked.

"Me and some of the girls have just been hanging around and chatting," I said, kissing his shoulder. "Where's Cari?" I asked, I hadn't seen her and usually she was by Damon's side.

"I put her in my room, she was getting too aggressive with some of the kids. I didn't want her to bite anyone," he responded while he threw.

"That's weird, she's never like that." I hadn't seen Cari be mean or growl at anyone ever since I've known her and Damon. She was a very gentle, calm dog; she needed to be for Damon. I was surprised she did that, especially with little kids.

Damon threw his last bag and got it in, causing him and Stefan to win. They high-fived each other and had a brotherly hug. I took out my iPhone and snapped a picture of them. "Aww, so cute," I commented as I checked it out.

"Here, let me get one of you and Damon, you guys don't have a good one," Stefan offered.

I raised my eyebrows, "And you know that how?"

"Your Facebook, duh!" Caroline exclaimed as she came up from behind Stefan, clearly eavesdropping on the conversation.

I rolled me eyes and Damon put his arm around my waist, I put my hand on his chest and we smiled at the camera. I felt like a high school couple taking all these pictures, but Stefan was right, we didn't really have any.

"Beautiful!" Caroline complimented as she handed my phone back.

I thanked them and they head to the outdoor bar, where Giuseppe was. Damon and I were going to play a game of bocce by ourselves. When we went to grab the stuff from the deck, Damon was heavily limping and was swaying a bit. "You alright?" I asked quietly as he grabbed my elbow to steady himself.

"Yeah, I've just been drinking a bit so my balance is off more than usual. My knee is just really sore today," he replied. I was glad he was more open with what was going on and told me when something was wrong. It made me happy that he was more confident in me and our relationship.

"You wanna sit down for a while? We don't have to play bocce."

He nodded and we sat by ourselves at a table on their outdoor patio. Damon rested his leg on my lap as I massaged his hurt knee. "You having fun?" he asked.

"Yeah, I like Caroline's work friends. They're very out there," I chuckled.

"That they are," he agreed.

"You know them?"

"I may have _mingled_ with Jessica a couple of times," he responded, smiling.

I rolled my eyes and slapped his leg, "Damon!"

"I wasn't in a 'good state of mind'" he half-joked, referring to right when he returned home from Afghanistan.

"Whatever," I said in a light tone. "I'm gonna go inside and make myself a drink, do you want another beer?"

"Yeah, please grab me one. I'll meet you downstairs."

I got caught inside talking to Bonnie, so by the time we went back outside the fireworks had already began. Damon was nowhere to be found. I looked around for Stefan and Caroline, but couldn't find them either. "I wonder where they went," I said to Bonnie.

She shrugged her shoulders, "Let's just wait for them here."

About five minutes later Caroline found me, looking frantic. "There you are!" she exclaimed, grabbing my arm. "Follow me!"

"Where are we going?" I asked as we ran down the hill in the backyard. Everyone was turned to the fireworks, we were running the other way.

"Damon is freaking out, I think the fireworks scared him. He's having some sort of panic attack," she explained as she pointed by a tree. Damon was behind the tree, leaning on it with his knees to his chest. His hands were covering his ears as he cried. Stefan was talking to him, trying to calm his brother down. "It's me Stefan, you're home. Just breathe, Damon, look where you are."

As soon as Stefan saw us coming, he waved me over. "As soon as the fireworks started, he ran down this hill yelling to get down and hide. I've been trying to reach him, but he keeps saying 'I'm sorry'. See if you can help."

I crouched down and slowly put my hand on his knee. He cringed a bit but relaxed under my touch. "Damon, look at me, it's Elena. Your girlfriend. You're at home, you're safe."

No response.

I carefully brought my hands to his and pulled them away from his ears. When he looked up and saw me he pulled me down. "Elena, get down, you're gonna get hit."

The fireworks were getting louder. The finale was starting.

"We're gonna die, I'm so sorry. We have nowhere to go," he said. He was now on top of me, his body covering mine.

I looked up to see Stefan with his hands in his hair, clearly stressed. Caroline was crying with her hand covering her mouth. The noises from the fireworks were at an overwhelming level.

"Cam, I'm so sorry. I don't have any ammo left. I can't help you!" He yelled.

Tears built up quickly as I laid underneath him. This was the first time I had seen him this distressed and I hated it. I hated seeing him scared and in pain like this. I could feel his tears falling on my bare shoulder.

"I got you Elena, I won't let anything happen," he whispered as we laid there. To a stranger, we would have looked ridiculous. Anyone who knew his situation knew this was something more, something he couldn't help.

It seemed like an eternity until the finale was over. Once the fireworks stopped, Damon sat up, confused. "They're gone," he declared, "there's no way they're gone. They're gonna sneak up on us."

I sat up on my knees. "Damon, we're at your house. They were just fireworks. No one is gonna hurt us."

He looked around, startled. His eyes were frantic as he took in our surroundings. As soon as he recognized where he was, his eyes widened. He brought his hands to his head and pulled at his hair, "Oh god, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry you had to see that."

"It's okay, Damon. Don't apologize. Let's get you inside."

He nodded and Stefan came over hand took Damon's shaky hands and helped him up. I rubbed Damon's back as Stefan helped him back to the house. We brought him up to his room, away from everyone at the party. Cari went to jump up on him, but Caroline pulled her back. "Not now Cari," Caroline whispered and pet her.

Damon stared blankly as he sat on the bed. I nodded to Caroline and Stefan to let them know I could handle it from there. "We'll be outside if you need us," Stefan said as he exited.

I watched as Damon broke down after they left. At first, quiet tears rolled down his face as he tried to keep himself together. Soon enough he was gasping for air as he sobbed. I rubbed his back and held his head against my chest. "Shhh, you're okay," I cooed.

"I couldn't save them," he would cry. "I just couldn't save them. And they called my name for help. I couldn't do it."

My heart broke for him. Damon had a huge heart and was extremely courageous, if there was any chance he could have done something to save his friends, he most definitely would have. Before I could respond, Damon started talking.

"I joined the navy when I was 18, only three years after my mom died. Then I joined the SEALs and was on my first tour when I was 22 after four years of training. Nothing really happened, we did a few missions. On the last one, we got ambushed and a few guys got shot, including Alaric. That was my first real experience at war. My second and third tours were similar, except a lot more death and explosions. My second tour was when I met two guys named Aiden and Ryan, who became pretty good friends of mine. We were sent to Afghanistan together, Cameron was sent there too."

I remembered Damon talking about Cameron, his best friend.

"There were rumors that the three of us and another guy named Ian were going on this huge mission to capture this Al Queda leader. Months passed and we did smaller missions but there was no news about this operation. Finally in early December we were informed that the mission would happen in early January. We were to be dropped off in the mountains where intel had informed us this guy was hiding. After a lot of debriefing and rehearsal and fake missions, we were prepared for what was ahead of us. January 5th, we were dropped off in the middle of the Hindu Kush mountains. Just the four of us. God, that was so stupid. They should have had more of us."

I could tell we were about to get to the hard part of the story because Damon started getting antsy. He pulled at his hair, wiped his hands on his pants, kept moving. I held his hands in mine and waited for him to continue.

"We were trekking up this mountain for about a half of a day trying to get a good spot at the top, because if you are on higher ground you are in way less danger. We got approached by three villagers, an old man and two younger boys. They were herding sheep. We knew they would go straight to the Taliban and tell them we were there if we let them go. But if we killed them, we would be in trouble at home for man-slaughtering 'innocent civilians' and go to jail. How fucking pathetic is that, Elena? We were worried about getting in trouble from our own fucking people! My friends would still be alive if it weren't for that! We decided to vote. Cameron and Ryan voted either way, Aiden voted to kill them, and Ian voted let them go. They left the final decision for me. It haunts me to this day. Every day I think about this, this decision is what got them killed. I let them go. I was so fucking stupid and selfish. I would sit my ass in jail today if they could still be alive."

I was enraged for them. How dare people who are sitting their asses here dictate how the military can act and what they should and shouldn't do while these men are risking their lives? How fucking dare them?

"Anyway, we let them go. As soon as we did I knew we were in deep shit. Just like we guessed, the next day when we were in the mountains, we looked up to see 100 Taliban pointing guns at us."

My heart was racing. I would have never had guessed this is how his friends died. Just the five of them against 100 men? There was no way they had a chance in hell!

"I'm sure you can guess how it went. We had to keep falling back down the mountain so they wouldn't get too close. We all broke bones, all of us had been shot at least once. Ian..Ian died first. After we fell back the second time, he was shot in the neck out in the open. I tried to save him, Elena. I ran out there and pulled him to safety behind the tree. He was still alive, but the Taliban were closing in. I heard Cameron yelling at me to fall back again. I remember Ian telling me, 'It's okay, Damon. I - und-er-staand'. G-g-go'."

Both Damon and I were in tears at this point. This was way more heartbreaking then I had ever imagined. I tried to wipe them off my face and be strong, but I couldn't keep them from coming.

"I had to leave him. I had to try and keep me and the other guys alive. I left him there. I have nightmares to this day off him yelling at me and accusing me of leaving him. They'll never go away. After we fell down again, we were in terrible shape. I had broken my left hand in three spots, tore my knee out, and broke vertebrae in my back, shot in the shoulder twice. Aiden had been shot three times, once in the stomach, and twice in the leg. Cameron had been shot in the shoulder and stomach. Both of them probably broke as much falling as I did. They kept shooting. None of us gave up, even in the pain we were in."

Damon was getting to a point where he could hardly talk. I couldn't even open my mouth. This was too painful to hear. No one should have gone through this.

"Ryan died after Ian, he was with Cameron when he was shot in the neck and killed instantly. Right after, Cameron walked out to the middle of the mountain with no cover to use the radio. He saved us, he saved me. It was the bravest thing I will ever see in my life. He's the reason people knew we were in trouble. He got shot again in the stomach, but made it back to our position behind the trees. He was about fifteen feet above me. Aiden was across from me. The Taliban were closing in from all directions. Cameron kept- he kept calling my name. Oh god, he wouldn't stop. It won't stop, I still hear it all time. 'Damon, help me!' That's all he would yell."

Damon was rocking back and forth, his hands over his ears. I covered my mouth with my hand and a sob escaped my throat. I couldn't be strong for him at all, not anymore. Both of us were just broken right now.

It took a few moments for Damon to continue, "It finally stopped when they got too close. Me and Aiden fell back again. I landed ten feet from him and crawled over. He was dying too, I was the last one. I tried to talk to him, keep him alive. He died in my arms. I quit shooting and hid in between these two giant rocks. I don't know where the luck came from, but they didn't find me or as far as I know, Aiden's body. The next three days I spent trying to crawl somewhere, anywhere. I had no food, no water. I couldn't even walk. I found a small pond with some trees and rested there. I set off my emergency flame in the air when a helicopter flew by to try and let them know where I was. Before anyone from US found me, the Taliban did. You can imagine what they did to me. Tortured me in every way they could for two days. They were taking me to another cave to hide me, I couldn't even walk at this point, when Army Rangers attacked them. I remember the first american I spoke to, he was the squad leader. His name was Roger. As soon as he recognized me, he hugged me and I broke down. I was so relieved to be with my own people and feel safe. I thought I was going to die with the fucking Taliban. I was positive they were going to video tape my death and send it to the media, they would have had a field day with it. After I was rescued, I was flown to the Navy base to spend time at a hospital and then they flew me home. That's my story, that's why I'm so fucked up."

We were both too emotional by then to say anything more. I just hugged him and never let go. I planted kisses on his neck and his face, where his tears were still falling. "You're not fucked up, Damon. You're so strong, so brave, you have such a big heart," I finally managed to say.

He shook his head, "I let them die. I made the decision to let those villagers go when I knew it was wrong. I left Ian, Cameron died to try and save me. They're dead because of me."

"You did what you could Damon, one day you'll see how strong and courageous you are. You didn't kill any of them."

When he didn't reply, I forced him to look at me and said, "I love you, Damon. I love you so much, I want you to know that. You are a great man who did his best in the worst possible situation. There was nothing else you could have done."

Damon embraced me, "I love you, too."

**Author's Note: Much of Damon's story is similar to what happened to Marcus Luttrell. If you haven't read his book story, Lone Survivor, please do. It's very touching and shows just how much heart and bravery military men truly have. God Bless America, and those who defend it.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait and this chapter is a little shorter than the rest, but don't worry lots more to come! Thanks for reading this and reviewing if you do.**

That night was rough for Damon and me as well. He couldn't get more than one hour of sleep without being interrupted by a nightmare. He'd wake up sweating and shaking with his hands at his ears and cry, 'I'm sorry!' or 'no, no, no' or 'please stop' in the most heartbreaking voices. Every time, I would try and wake him up as fast as possible and hold him until he fell back asleep.

"It's all my fault," he'd cry.

"Damon, you did what you were asked of. You couldn't have done anything else. Getting yourself killed wouldn't have saved their lives," I responded.

He didn't respond and I could tell he still didn't believe me. I sighed and glanced at the clock, it was already six in the morning. I snuggled in closer to Damon and closed my eyes to try and get a few more hours of sleep.

When I couldn't fall asleep by seven and Damon was laying on his stomach lightly snoring, I got up and headed downstairs. Caroline was drinking coffee and reading the newspaper by herself at the island.

"Morning," I greeted and sat next to her.

"Hey," she replied lightly, "Everything okay?"

I was going to respond and say 'everything's fine' when a lump in my throat caused me not to, all the emotions from last night hitting me again. "I don't know," I cried.

"Oh honey," she whispered as she pulled me into a hug. She rubbed my back and held me tight. Caroline was a very compassionate person and had a great insight on people. She waited patiently until I started talking.

"He told me everything last night. All about what happened in Afghanistan and how it changed him. Told me how all his friends died in front of him. Oh god, Care, I can't imagine going through all of that and coming out normal. He's so...I just care about him so much, I don't want him to have any pain," I poured my heart out to her.

"Oh, Elena, I know you do. Damon is stronger than any of us in a way we can't understand. That's why he was able to become a SEAL in the first place. He might not ever fully get over what happened, but he will be okay. He already has made strides, especially since he met you. At least now, there are times when he actually wants to live. You guys love each other so much, everyone can see it," she reminded me.

"I know, it just hurts me to know what happened to him and see how much pain it causes," I said.

"It hurts all of us. Believe me, there have been many nights when Stefan gets overwhelmed by Damon's struggles. It's hard for anyone who cares about him to see."

I nodded and wiped my tears away, "Oh god. I'm a mess. I came down here to make breakfast and I ended up crying."

We both laughed and hugged each other. Caroline finally got up and suggested we make pancakes and sausage. "We have to make a big batch, lots of people slept over last night," she added.

"Oh yeah, how did the rest of the night go?" I asked. I forgot how early me and Damon left the party.

"It was actually a lot of fun, well as fun at could have been considering what happened. Stefan was really worried about him, but we hung out and drank with everyone until like one in the morning. The only reason I am up is because of the alcohol," she laughed.

"I'm glad you guys had fun. You're going to have quite the hangover later on," I picked on her.

"Ugh, I know. I really don't want to deal with Giuseppe this morning," she whined.

"When do you ever?" I joked.

"No, he's going to be having a fight with Damon. You should have heard him ranting about what happened last night," she informed me.

"What could he possibly be mad about?" I questioned.

"Because Damon 'is a huge embarrassment to the family'," she quoted Giuseppe.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I cursed. I couldn't help it, the eldest Salvatore was the biggest ignorant pig I had ever met. He couldn't understand or try to understand his own son's pain.

She shook her head while she flipped the pancakes, "Nope. Stefan was going to punch him, he was so close."

"I would have loved to see that!" I exclaimed.

"Me too," she agreed.

By the time we finished breakfast, Stefan, Giuseppe, Claire, Bonnie, and several other people I didn't know were up and in the massive kitchen.

"You didn't lie when you said a lot of people stayed," I nudged Caroline.

She nodded, "I told you so."

I noticed Damon wasn't up yet and I was tempted to let him sleep in, but he had to help move the rest of my stuff into his old apartment. Moving in had been a very slow process so far. We kind of forgot about it as I adjusted to working so much. We didn't really have time so we agreed we would slowly move everything in. Today was probably going to be our last trip as most of the stuff was out of my room already.

I slipped out of the kitchen and ran upstairs to his room. He was still completely passed out on his stomach. I lightly traced the scars on his back. I had never hated a stranger as much as I hated the Taliban men who did this. He stirred and rolled over when my fingers touched the scars from the bullets leaving his shoulder. After rubbing his eyes, he mumbled, "Morning."

I smiled and straddled him, "Morning."

He smirked as I pulled my shirt over my head, "What's this?"

I leaned down and whispered, "Just a little something to make you feel better. I am a nurse after all."

* * *

When we finished and Damon showered, we headed back downstairs where everyone was still eating. Damon took the last of the pancakes and we sat on the counter because everyone else took the seats.

"Thanks for..you know, thanks for being there," Damon said.

"Thanks for trusting me," I responded, squeezing his leg.

I stayed with him as he ate and noticed Giuseppe watching over us from his seat by Claire and a few strangers. I turned to Damon and warned him, "I want to give you a heads up, Caroline said last night Giuseppe was upset."

"Let me guess, he thought I made a scene," he grunted.

I nodded. He mumbled something I couldn't hear and got up. "I'll be back in a few," he said. I watched as he got his dad's attention and they headed outside, away from everyone.

I went out back with Cari and played catch with her as I waited for Damon to come back. I now understood why her name was spelled the way it was, it was an acronym. C for Cameron, A for Aiden, R for Ryan and I for Ian.

Damon came back looking stressed, as I guessed he would have. Before I could even asked he said, "We basically just agreed to keep whatever poor opinions we have about each other to ourselves."

"So you pretty much agreed to disagree, meaning you won't talk?" I clarified.

"Pretty much," he shrugged. Their relationship was so sad to me, I was so close with my parents I couldn't imagine not talking to them if they were alive. His dad was different, though, that much I knew. He wasn't exactly personable and loving.

"Wanna finish moving your stuff?" he asked.

I nodded and we headed out, making sure we said goodbye to the guests before we left. Alaric and Jenna were doing yard work when we got back to their house. When Alaric saw us he asked, "Hey man, you alright? I talked to Stefan a bit last night. We showed up late cause we went to another party a couple of town's over."

Damon rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, just had a rough night. I was drinking and the fireworks started out of nowhere, just a bad mixture."

Alaric slapped a hand on his friend's back and whispered something I couldn't hear. Jenna turned to me, "Rough night?"

"Yeah, but me and Damon said I love you to each other," I confessed.

"What? That's great!" she hugged me.

"We didn't get engaged! It's not that big of a deal," I chuckled at her excitement.

"I know, but you both deserve to be happy and I think you're good for each other. Alaric told me that you make Damon really happy. They went out for drinks the other night and Damon apparently got drunk and poured his heart out," she said.

I blushed and watched Damon as I admitted, "Well I'm glad he's happy with me because he's all I think about. Jenna, I've never felt this way about anyone in my life. It scares me."

She laughed and I was reminded of my mom, they shared a similar laugh and smile. I wished she was here to meet Damon and I could share details with her. This is when I missed her the most.

"We've all been there, Elena. That's what your mom said to me when she met your dad. That's what how I felt when I met Alaric. It's normal, just don't do anything rash because you're scared," she advised.

"I wasn't planning on it," I assured.

We headed inside and to my room, where there were only a few boxes left. Jenna looked around and asked, "Do you need my help with anything? Or are you all set?"

"No, I think me and Damon got it from here," I responded.

She hugged me, "Well Alaric and I were going to shower and get dinner soon. I can't believe you're moving out on me!"

"It's just down the road, don't worry."

"I know, but you're all grown up and independent. I'm so proud of you, Elena. You're such an amazing person, especially with everything you've been through. I'm going to miss having you around, you'd better visit all the time!"

"Don't be silly, I'll be here all the time," I reassured her. She gave me one last hug before saying bye and heading to her room.

Damon and I packed the rest of my crap into my Jeep and drove to my new apartment. Well, Damon's apartment that he was kind enough to lend to me. After we moved everything upstairs, we took a few minutes to rest in my bed. "My book comes out tomorrow," shared Damon.

I raised my eyebrows, I had completely forgotten about this. The book was highly anticipated and lately Damon had received many calls from news reporters wanting interviews with 'America's Hero'. I was sure that sooner or later he would have to do some in order for people to leave him alone. "It completely slipped my mind. Are you nervous?"

Damon nodded, "I just want people to know the truth, whether they believe what I say or not, that's their choice."

"It'll be nice to get it off your chest," I agreed as I laid my head on his shoulder and drew circles on his chest. "You're going to have to do interviews sooner or later Damon," I added after a minute.

He sighed. "I know. I just-I'm not sure I'm ready to talk about that on television. I don't want to have a breakdown on national TV. I mean, look what happened when I told you, I cried like a baby. It's too..." he seemed to struggle for words.

"Fresh?" I finished for him and he nodded. "Well how about this, you start with the book signings. That'll get you used to talking about it a little because people will ask you questions but they won't have enough time to talk in detail. Once you feel comfortable with that you can do local interviews in private and then you can do the national ones like the Navy wants you to," I suggested. It was true, the Navy wanted him to write the book and do the interviews so the lies were put to rest and the truth was out. The difficult part was that Damon already had a hard enough time telling people he cares about what happened, let alone strangers and a TV in his face.

Damon thought about it for a second and seemed to think it was a good idea. "Yeah, but the Navy is constantly pushing me to do interviews as soon as possible. They also said the president wants to meet with me," he said nonchalantly, like it wasn't a big deal.

"What?" I exclaimed, "The president wants to meet with you?"

"Yeah, he wants to present some medals to me," he said, but didn't seem to think it was anything special.

"Damon, that's huge!" I sat up and saw him roll his eyes. I knew he was republican and didn't really care for Obama and the liberal media, but to be recognized by the President of the United States was huge. I didn't care if he was a democrat or not, if Obama wanted to meet Damon, I was going to be damned if he didn't go.

He shrugged and said, "I'll have to go sometime."

I dropped the subject at the tone of his voice and decided to take him to a nice dinner later that evening in the city to get his mind off everything. I wore an off white straight dress that ended right above my knees with nude pumps. I applied some face makeup and eyeshadow and had curled my hair and put it up. I drove over to pick Damon up back at Stefan's and was surprised when Cari wasn't with him. Damon hardly ever went anywhere in public without her because he would get too nervous. "Not bringing Cari?" I asked.

He shook his head and climbed in. "I just want it to be me and you," he replied and kissed me. He looked like a male model in his black suit and tie. He left his hair messy and wore expensive cologne that smelled amazing.

"It's just a dog," I joked.

He laughed as I pulled out of his driveway. "Yeah, but I don't want to have to worry about her. You look beautiful," he complimented.

"Thank you, you like nice as well," I said and cupped his face. He grabbed my hand with his and held it on his lap.

The hour drive was pleasant and we held a light conversation. Damon asked me all sorts of questions about Jeremy (who he had yet to meet), my college experiences, and work. I told him of some funny intoxicated experiences I had with my friends, about how proud I was of my brother, and how well work was going.

We pulled into Maggiano's, an expensive italian restaurant and noticed it was packed full of cars. I knew Damon was nervous around crowds and preferred to sit in a corner so he could see what everyone was doing, so I called ahead and made reservations and asked to be put at a table in the back.

The hostess, who looked to be about twenty, greeted us with a smile. Her eyes widened at the sight of Damon and her cheeks flushed. I smirked as she clearly checked him out, but surprisingly she was friendly as she asked, "Table for two?"

"Yeah, we have reservations under Gilbert," I replied, taking a look around the busy restaurant. I was glad we made reservations because a crowd of people were at the door waiting to be sat. Several pairs of eyes were staring at us wide eyed. I wasn't sure if they recognized Damon or something, but some of them pointed and whispered. I was glad we were seated right away because I felt extremely awkward under their open stares.

Damon's hand was at my lower back as the waitress led us to our table, which was in a quieter area in the back. Damon pulled my chair back for me as I sat down. "Why thank you," I said.

He smiled appreciatively and thanked me for making the reservations and I knew he was happy we were in the back. He ordered us some expensive wine that I'd never heard of and two minutes later the waiter, who was thankfully a male, poured it for us. I took a sip of the deliciously bitter wine and blushed when I saw Damon staring at me. "What?" I asked nervously. Damon still gave me butterflies in my stomach.

"Nothing, you're just beautiful. I'm so lucky to have you, everyone was staring at you when we walked in," he said.

I laughed and rolled my eyes. "Damon, they're staring at you."

"They are not! They were gaping at you. Don't tell me otherwise," he said firmly, but in a nice way. The waiter came back and asked for our orders. Damon ordered veil parmesan and I ordered penne rigate.

The dinner was enjoyable because we didn't talk about upsetting topics and lots of laughs were shared. Damon told me about all the trouble him and Stefan used to get in together. We made our way to Caroline and Stefan's relationship and he said, "I think they're great together and I can't wait until my brother gets some balls proposes."

I chuckled and agreed, "He will soon. What'd you think of Caroline the first time you met her?"

"Well, I have to say I didn't really like her. I thought she was crazy and she didn't have a job and I thought she was only in it because of money," he stopped at my glare, "calm down, calm down, I don't think that now. I didn't really get a chance to know her until recently. She's been great to me and has helped me a lot. Especially with the whole Katherine fiasco. She's a very good friend and she'll be a great wife to Stefan," he finished.

"I agree. Caroline has a big heart, she can be loud and crazy sometimes, but you just have to laugh and appreciate her optimism," I said. We finished up our food and the waiter brought our check. Damon and I got into our first argument.

I grabbed the check before Damon could even move and brought my wallet out. My actions were disrupted when Damon said in a serious voice, "You're not paying."

"Yeah, I am, I brought _you_ to dinner so _I_ am going to pay," I snapped. I knew he was wealthy but that didn't mean I couldn't pay for a dinner.

He tried to grab the check but I pulled it away angrily. "I can afford to pay for fucking dinner Damon," I hissed quietly so no one could hear.

Damon glared but didn't say anything the rest of the time and once I paid we left the restaurant without a word. I stormed to the car and Damon crawled in the passenger seat in a tense silence. "Why do you insist on paying for everything? I'm not some poor girl who can't afford to bring her boyfriend to dinner. You think I can't afford to pay you rent either. I have a fucking job," I said angrily as we drove.

He rolled his eyes and replied just as annoyed, "It's not that I don't think you can't afford anything, Elena. I know you work hard and earn your own money."

After taking a deep breathe, he continued in a softer tone, "I love that about you, that you work and you're independent. You do so much for me Elena, you're my rock. I know that being with me is complicated and requires more work and there's a lot of things that are hard for me to do. But if there's one thing I can do, it's pay for a romantic dinner with my girlfriend."

His words brought me to tears and then I cried even more because I was being a typical emotional girl. I pulled over to the side of the road because the tears kept coming. I didn't know why I was so upset over a fight, but I couldn't stop crying. Damon looked worried, "Elena, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. What's wrong? What did I say?"

I let out a laugh that came out as a sob. "N-nothing, I don't know why I'm c-crying."

He reached over and rubbed my back as I tried to gather my emotions. I took one look at his concerned face and started crying again, "I think- I think everything that happened and everything you told me last night is just c-catching up with me," I cried, "I love you so much, Damon. I don't want to argue with you and I don't want you to think I don't enjoy being with you. I just worry about you all the time."

Damon smiled and rubbed my tears away with his thumb. I looked up at him and he kissed my trembling lips. "Elena, I love you too. I don't want you worrying over me like this. I didn't realize you were so upset, please don't stress over me. I'll be okay, I promise. I have you."

He kissed me again and I wiped my tears away, embarrassed I had such a meltdown in front of him. He didn't seem to care, but he did insist that he drove the rest of the way home. I appreciated the gesture because I knew how much anxiety he got when he had to drive. We switched spots and he held my hand while he let me ramble on about how Jeremy was so traumatized over our parents death he went into severe depression and did drugs and got into trouble. He promised nothing like that would happen to him, he just needed time to deal with things, that he was in therapy for those reasons. By the time we got to his house I felt much better.

I walked with him to the door and he said, "I feel bad leaving you alone when you're upset."

I shook my head, "Don't be. You made me feel much better. Thank you."

He kissed me and wished me goodnight before going inside. I drove back home and smiled to myself, Damon was the greatest thing that ever happened to me.


End file.
